Girl Talk: Dating Senpai
by The7Strange
Summary: Kyoko and Ren have just started dating, but this is a world she's never experienced before. Luckily, she has her best friend to ask for advice, and a boyfriend eager to show her the wonders of intimacy. Continuation of "Girl Talk: Seducing Senpai"
1. Chapter 1

_Alright all you pervs, here you go; a continuation of "Girl Talk".  
If you haven't read that story already, finding your way here for the M rating, I recommend you check it out. There's no sex or anything, but plenty of talk about those kinds of things, and LOTS of sexual tension to feed your dirty, **dirty** minds (there's only four somewhat short chapters anyway, so It won't take you too long to catch up)._

 _I really like the idea of exploring the growth of Kyoko easing into the more mature aspects of life and relationships. There's a lot of fanfiction out there that have her just... jump in and get all hot with Ren. I get it, BELIEVE me I do. I phUCKiN' love raunchy stuff like that. I can't even begin to count how many erotica I've read, or sexy bang-em' self-indulgent stories I've written for my private pleasure, and there's just SO MUCH pent up sexual frustration to be found in "Skip Beat", but I'm also very passionate about character growth and accuracy._

 _That being said, this series is supposed to not only show a slow and natural ease into the mature world (something I was very eager to jump into as a teen), but also I hope to show a story that explores a healthy relationship and a healthy way of viewing the body and the pleasures that can come with it, without the skewed views and wild misinformation that can cause more trouble than good in the long run (vaginas do not smell like fruit, and they really shouldn't be expected to)._

 _Sex and everything around it is weird and strange and fun and wonderful, and I'm going to let you curious little kiddies experience something (hopefully) great!_

* * *

Kyoko fidgeted with her hands the entire ride back to Ren's place, too nervous over their first date to do much more than try to distract herself from the very thought that this was indeed their first date... and they would be alone... in his place. Sure, she had been to Tsuruga-san's home many times before, but this was different. They were a couple now. They were attracted to one another and reciprocated one another's feelings. Silently, she worried over her inexperience with such things. It was obvious that intimate relationships were nothing new to the man, and she was more than a little worried that she wouldn't be experienced enough to keep his attention. The bite-mark vs hickey incident was proof enough of their difference in experience.

"Mogami-san, we're here." She was jolted out of her thoughts by her senior's voice, blushing lightly as she frantically pulled off her seat-belt and crawled out of the car. _'You can do this, you can do this, you can do this.'_ she chanted in her head, though then she started to worry about what 'this' would entail. How far was he wanting to go with her? How _fast_? Would... would he expect her to do that thing Kanae had mentioned earlier that day? Would he want to do... _that_? Well... It was highly likely he did. _That_ somewhat went with the whole 'thinking with the wrong head' conversation she had asked him about so many weeks ago, and she had certainly _felt_ that part that showed he was thinking about such things just yesterday. "Mogami-san, please relax. I'm not going to do anything you're uncomfortable with." Ren stated as he stood in his doorway, holding his front door open for her and waiting patiently. Kyoko blushed darkly and shuffled in, her body tensing all over again as the door shut behind her. Ren sighed lightly and shook his head. "I wanted to wait until we had eaten before I started to talk about things, but I'm starting to think I best get some things out of the way now. Would you care to sit and talk with me for a moment, Mogami-san?" he asked gently. Kyoko's wide eyes stared at him, the girl's mind in a haze as she followed him to the couch before he guided her to sit down. They were... talking? Had she really disappointed him already? She startled as she felt him gently take her hand into his own, the man frowning lightly in worry as he started to pull away, only to pause and hold it firmly again when she tightened her grip on his hand. She'd never seen such a worried and uneasy expression on his face before.

"Let me start off by saying, you have no idea how happy I am to finally start a romantic relationship with you. I've liked you for a long time, and I want to make sure you know that, above all else, I want to make sure you can be happy with me. That being said... we should probably go over boundaries." Kyoko's eyes finally flicked up to meet his, finding the man smiling nervously at her, relaxing slowly as she looked at him.

"Boundaries?" she asked with soft curiosity. Ren nodded, his hand squeezing hers for a moment.

"Yes. I... I'm sure that you've already noticed that I can be a bit... physically affectionate." he says slowly. Kyoko let out a short laugh.

"That's an understatement." she grumbled before she could stop herself, freezing and looking to him timidly. "S-sorry." Ren chuckled and shook his head lightly.

"No, you're right. I know I've done some things in the past that were quite troublesome for you. While I'm sorry to have been a burden on Mogami-san..., I'm not sure I can honestly say I wouldn't do those things should I be given a chance to do it over. That in mind though... I don't want to drive you off by making you uncomfortable with my show of affection being too physical for you. I want to set some boundaries to try and combat that possibility even a little. For example, I don't have any problem with Mogami-san exploring my body in any way you desire... but you need to stop if I tell you that you're pushing my limits a bit too much. I like to think I'm typically very in control of myself, but too much stimulation... I don't know how well I can rein in my desires after a certain point." His mind helpfully supplied the thought that maybe she could do as she pleased if she tied him down... but that was probably not a possibility he would be getting to explore any time soon. _'One step at a time. Don't get hasty.'_ he reminded himself. This was Kyoko they were talking about after all.

Kyoko blushed and picked at her clothes shyly as Ren mentioned exploring his body. That... was a secretly enticing thought, the girl easily recalling the time she had smoothed her hands all over his chest while acting as the Heel siblings, and then the small feel she had gotten when trying to seduce him one day in the love-me room, the day she had discovered how sensitive his head was. Then there was just yesterday... when she had hugged him so tightly, kissed, kissed a _lot_ , put her hands _in his **shirt**_. Oh, she was _turning into a pervert_! But... he had also gotten a bit handsy with her last night. Granted, he had made sure to stay outside her clothes, and then the sound of his pleading voice, telling her that he wasn't sure how much control he had with her feeling all over his chest and back and sides... just the memory of how his face had been flushed, eyes closed as he panted while laying on the floor and trying to compose himself; her body was hot and tingling with the desire she was slowly coming to understand. This was so much different than her love for Sho in the past. Back then she had been smitten, here and now... she felt so much **_passion_**.

"I... I think that's a good boundary for both of us, Tsuruga-san." Kyoko timidly spoke, peeking up and watching as his brown eyes widened with surprise. then drooped slowly as the emperor searched her expression.

"Are you sure?" he practically breathed out, inadvertently giving away his longing for it to be true. "You understand... exploring the body involves heavy touching, including under the clothes. You don't have anything you want to keep off limits until further notice? Mouths? F-..." He swallowed heavily, the emperor slipping for just a second as he prepared to say such a lewd thing to the girl he loved, "F-fingering?" the word came out a little softer than he intended. Kyoko looked up to him curiously.

"Fingering?" she echoed just as softly, looking confused yet curiosity slowly building. Ren felt a small sense of dread settle in his gut, but knew he needed to be blunt during this conversation if he wanted to make sure there were no misunderstandings that could hurt their relationship regarding these things in the future.

"Do you know what fingering is, Mogami-san?" he asked nervously, the dread causing a sigh to pore from him and spread the heat on his face as she shook her head in the negative. "Fingering is when well... when someone, you or your partner, use fingers to pleasure your... feminine parts." He explained. Somehow, talking about this kind of topic was just a little easier to handle when she was in an actual relationship with him... Or maybe he was just fantasizing more about actually being able to _do_ these things one day. Kyoko turned red and fidgeted as she considered his words. She had noticed how her body had been reacting to all the pent up sexual frustration and seductions lately, but she had yet to explore it, feeling unsure and weary of it all. She had considered looking it up at one point, but quickly decided that was a bad idea. She wasn't stupid, she's heard of what kinds of things can pop up if you're not careful about what you search for. Considering this seemed to be something directly connected with sexual desires and the like, there really was no safe way to look up anything on it online, and she wasn't about to look through books on it!

"I... I see..." she spoke slowly. Ren watched her silently, his eyes baring into her and making her skin feel hot with only his gaze. She couldn't deny that she was growing curious about the things he told her... but then she felt a small sense of annoyance at how much more knowledgeable he was than her at these things. "Tsuruga-san has experienced a number of things I have no knowledge in." she grumbled unhappily. Ren frowned lightly at her bitter tone, looking down as she slipped her hand out of his grasp. It stung, honestly, having her pull away.

"I'm sorry." he said quietly. Her head snapped up to look at him again, but he couldn't bring himself to be happy about it at all. "I... I can't change the past. There are a lot of things I regret about my past, things I've done, things I've seen, but you... you are the one thing that I would happily experience over and over. I may know more about these things, but experiencing these things with you is something different than I've ever done before. No amount of reading, research, or experience could ever prepare me for you." He admits, looking up to her with sincerity shining in his eyes. Kyoko felt her irritation fizzle out as she took in his vulnerable expression, letting out a slow sigh as she nodded.

"I'm sorry too, I know I don't really have any right to be jealous over things you did before we had even met. I just... I suppose I'm feeling a bit insecure... like I might just become another conquest or something." she admits. Ren smiled softly and held out his hand for her again, hoping she would accept it. He was surprised when she scoot a little closer to him, allowing him to gently settle his arm around her shoulders and pull her into cuddling against his side.

"You could never be anything less than special to me, Mogami-san. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't even know what love _is_." She looked up at him in surprise, her thoughts instantly flying to his struggle with Katsuki and the conversations he had with Bo. It couldn't be...! What about Kimiko? Hadn't she been working so hard to seduce him because of his love for the conniving girl he had been broken-hearted over?

"I don't understand Tsuruga-san," she said softly as she looked up at him, "didn't you like... s-someone else?" She looked away quickly, not really wanting to say the girl's name and see recognition dawn in his eyes. Ren frowned lightly in confusion, cradling her face gently before guiding her to look at him again.

"You are the only one I love, Mogami-san... Kyoko-chan." He confesses gently. Kyoko stares at him with shock before quickly shaking her head. He was just saying the things she wanted to here to make her happy! He had so much experience with these things! I'm wasn't fair! "It's true, Kyoko. Won't you trust me? No... wait, I... I guess I have no right to ask that." He sighed heavily. Kyoko looked over to him curiously, confused at the conflicted look on his face. Seeing her curious gaze, Ren sighed again.

"The other reason I wanted to have you over and talk over dinner, Kyoko... is I need to be honest with you about something before I can start a relationship in good conscience. I really wanted to do this after dinner but... Kyoko, I'm Corn." He said, clenching his fists tightly as he awaited her response. There was a long silence, causing him to nervously peek up at her. She was staring at him with disbelief, but the sincerity and fear in his eyes confirmed everything she needed to know. He was being honest with her. This wasn't some kind of trick.

"How? You... I..." She clamped her mouth shut as she tried to string together a coherent sentence, the man sitting next to her with obvious tension in his body. "You... you lied to me? You tricked me and deceived and... y-you kissed me." She frowned deeply, her eyebrows lowering a bit as her eyes flicked all over his face, searching for... she didn't even know what she was looking for. Ren felt his body chill significantly as soon as she pulled away from his arm, though he was relieved that she didn't get up off the couch... at least not yet. His chest was starting to hurt from her growing distance. "Why?" Yes, That seemed like a good place to start. Why had he hidden it from her? Tricked her? The man sighed yet again and ran a hand through his hair nervously.

"No one is supposed to know about me, about who I really am." He could see light starting to shine in her widening eyes and he shook his head sadly, knowing that she was likely thinking he meant things about fairies. "Kyoko, I'm not a fairy. I'm a foreigner, only partially Japanese. I know you were happy having Corn remain a fairy but... I can't be in a relationship with someone I'm not honest with, especially you." He tells her, stern but uneasy in how she would react to it. Kyoko frowned lightly as she looked down between them, finding his clenched hand and worrying over it a bit. He was being honest with her, and she could tell it wasn't easy for him to come clean, especially when it had him so tense like this.

Reaching out timidly, she grabbed his hand, watching as shock and mild relief caused him to startle then loosen up a bit, his eyes starting to show a shining hope within them as he waited a little more patiently now. _'Tsuruga-san... Corn, really relies a lot on physical touch when it comes to being reassured.'_ She noted, glancing up at him again. The longer she held his hand, the more he seemed to be relaxing, the visible changes intriguing her greatly. She chewed her lip thoughtfully and held back a grin as she saw his eyes zero in on the little motion. Right, that was still going to take some getting used to, the fact that this man actually _wants to **kiss** her_. She couldn't hold back the little grin anymore as she scooted closer and reached out, gently placing her hand on his cheek as his widening eyes flicked over her face, searching. Kyoko giggled and leaned in, pleased to see the chocolate brown orbs sliding shut as he leaned in a bit as well, obvious anticipation all over his face. She hummed happily as she closed her own eyes and pressed in, her other hand coming up to rest on his chest to keep her steady, noting the quick little intake of breath as she closed the distance between them completely. He didn't press her, simply resting a timid hand on her arm as he gently guided their lips open, deepening the kiss just a bit. When Kyoko pulled away, she watched his hazy eyes flicker open, looking at her with desire and confusion.

"Why...? What was that for?" His voice rumbled, deep and somewhat breathless. Kyoko had to bite her lip a little to keep herself from getting carried away.

"I wanted to show you that I'm accepting it, accepting you. It doesn't matter if Tsuruga-san is a fairy or whatever, because... I like you." She blushed and looked up at him timidly, seeing incredible relief in his eyes before he grabbed her and hugged her tight against his chest, ignoring her little squeak of surprise.

"Thank you, Kyoko." He whispered. She let out a little hum in response as she melted into his embrace, feeling happy and relieved. This had been a pretty good talk after all... and then she recalled the first part of their conversation all over again, making her turn beet red.

"Um so... a-about those boundaries..." she started, confused a bit as he released her quickly.

"Sorry, I... I'll try to control myself better." He says quickly. He didn't want to chase her away by getting too greedy. Using her as a means to pull himself out of the darkness was one thing. Hugging her without abandon was something else entirely, and he didn't want to take advantage of her. Kyoko stared over at him curiously, his hands up in surrender as his face looked so incredibly conflicted. Kyoko giggled and scoot back against him, loving the wide-eyed wonder he stared at her with as she slowly pulled his arms to hug her body to him again. She found she really liked the feel of his firm arms wrapped around her slim waist.

"I... I'm interested in the things Tsu-... the things Corn can show me, but I'd like to go slow. I don't think I can handle... Corn's hands on such private areas right away." Ren stared openly at her for a moment before his expression slowly shifted, once again giving way to that Emperor of the Night. His hand came up and caressed her cheek gently as he leaned in.

"Anything for you, Kyoko." He murmured seductively, sending a shiver down her spine.

* * *

"Moko-san, I really can't talk about it." Kyoko whimpered as she peeked up at her friend timidly. The raven-haired beauty only scowled down at her for a moment before she stood abruptly. Kyoko had been distracted all throughout their Love-Me work today, and Kanae had only been able to pry out of her that she and Ren had had a very important and serious talk yesterday, in which he told her things that she was coming to terms with. It had stopped there however, the usually open and bright girl saying she couldn't really discuss it further.

"Fine, I see how it is." she snapped. She knew this was typical for girls, but she had honestly hoped and believed Kyoko would be different. "Now that you have a boyfriend, you don't have time or care for your friends. Fine, whatever, Just go talk to your boyfriend about everything and shut me out." she hissed, sending a glare at the trembling and watery-eyed Kyoko. The sight brought Kanae pause, causing her to look away quickly with an angry click of her tongue. It stung, honestly, knowing that only a couple days ago her friend had been completely open with her and told her everything, sometimes more than she wanted to know. Now that she was in a relationship with Tsuruga Ren, she was suddenly saying she couldn't talk to her about things. Was their friendship really such a small deal to the girl?

"You don't understand, Moko-san! It's not about me, It's Tsuruga-san's secret!" Kyoko cried out, her voice shaky as Kanae could audibly hear the tears in the younger girl's voice. She cursed herself instantly and slowly turned around, guilt eating away at her heart as the saw how upset she had made her friend. With a heavy sigh, Kanae dropped her bag and quickly walked over, dropping down in front of Kyoko and pulling her into a hug. Had it been an act at all, she was sure Kyoko would have instantly perked up. The little sniffle and hesitant responding embrace were enough to tear Kanae's half-eaten heart to pieces as she realized just how real Kyoko's distress had been.

"I'm sorry... I just... I thought you were pulling away, putting your relationship with Tsuruga-san above your relationship with me. I'm sorry, don't cry. You're right, I shouldn't try to pry other people's secrets out of you." she apologized. Kyoko pulled Kanae into a tighter embrace, nuzzling into the older girl's neck as Kanae hugged her tighter.

"Thank you for understanding Moko~" Kyoko whined. Kanae sighed lightly and reached up, patting her on the head as they slowly separated.

"Stupid, what are friends for? How about we get you cleaned up and go out for ice cream? Even if you can't tell me this big secret, maybe you can tell me what bothers you about it? I still want to help you if I can and if I can't, we'll just swallow our problems with the ice cold calories."

"MOKO~!" Kyoko wailed as she launched herself at her friend once again. Kanae sighed and pat her lightly on the back, silently telling herself that she should at least let this happen to help make up for upsetting the girl so much a moment ago.

"Moko-san...," Kyoko trailed off as she worked on Kanae's pedicure, Kyoko's choice for their 'Girl Talk Activity' for the night. The older girl hadn't pressed any further while they were out at the ice-cream shop earlier, resorting to simply making sure whatever this thing that bothered the other girl wasn't something dangerous. Kyoko didn't speak back up for several minutes.

"Mo! What is it?" she asked, barely keeping the bite out of her voice. She wasn't good at suspense. She supposed it was a result of being able to read everything so quickly, but she had little to no experience when it came to waiting. Kyoko definitely made her work on her patience. Kyoko blushed darkly.

"I... h-have you ever touched yourself?" The room went dead quiet for three whole minutes.

"Why are you asking about that?" Kanae sighed heavily, hanging her head to rest in one hand with exasperation. Really, what was she to ever do with this girl?

"It's just... Part of the conversation Tsuruga-san and I had was about boundaries..." Kanae nodded her approval. Looked like lover boy was taking this seriously and trying to go about this as healthily as possible. But why was she asking about... "And... he ended up explaining... fingering..." Kanae looked to the blushing girl that was working hard to give her 'toes fit for a princess'. She narrowed her eyes at the timid girl. Why? Why did Kyoko always manage to bring up the most embarrassing topics for these things. Hell, talking about jerking a guy off was less embarrassing! Kanae groaned, knowing that Kyoko wasn't going to ask Tsuruga about thing pertaining to what girls do in private. This was on her.

"Yes, I've masturbated before. I don't have a habit of it or anything, but I tried it once when I read that it can help relieve stress and headaches and a whole bunch of other stuff if you can manage to orgasm. It's kind of tedious, actually. I've found that I would rather take medication than try and 'pleasure myself' most of the time. It's more efficient that way. Even so... I would recommend it for you. I suppose you could just let your boyfriend help you explore those things, but he's going to get pretty distracted and absorbed, so it'll help a lot if you explore what you like beforehand, so you can tell him what you want." She explains. Kyoko looked up at her with that gaze that said she was 'marveling at her radiance' or something. Kanae didn't really get it, but she didn't really have any desire to go any deeper into this topic. Look, on the far end, bottom shelf of the bookshelf, just shift the chest away and you'll find some of the more raunchy books. I've got lesbians, which will probably help you a lot with getting a grasp of masturbating without so much focus on things like baby-making and men, and then you've got shape-shifters, vampires, deserted islands, harems, reverse harems... I don't think you'd be into that one. You seem like a one-dick kind of girl." Kyoko's eyes blew wide and her face bloomed a bright red as she realized what that implied about that particular category. "Just pick one of them and try to read a few things in there, try them out when you're alone, or you can ask your boyfriend to assist you. It's _your_ body. _You_ have to figure out how you want to explore it." she explains. Kyoko nodded timidly, unable to rid herself of the heat on her face. Shuffling over to the indicated spot, Kyoko moved the chest out of the way and browsed quietly for a bit, ultimately deciding on a vampire one and the lesbian one that Kanae had said would help her explore her body without getting too caught up in the whole... baby-making thing she had mentioned. If nothing else, this was sure to be an interesting experience.

* * *

 _Hello! I did a LOT of backtracking and changing things to get the interactions JUUUUST right on this one._

 _It's strange, but I really can't see Kanae getting super into masturbation and the like. She seems like the kind of girl that informs herself and tries to find the most efficient way to solve a problem. Orgasms are awesome, but they've not always easy to achieve, especially for girls.  
She's also definitely the kind of girl that would explore all kinds of things, seeing as she can read through everything so quickly anyway. It's not like she would be wasting a whole lot of time._

 _Chiori on the other hand... she seems like a girl that might explore it a bit more when her hate journal doesn't cut it in releasing that extra frustration.  
*winks with both eyes*_

 _Don't worry readers, the fun is only beginning. ;)_


	2. Chapter 2

_This is going to get real steamy real quick, so I hope you all enjoy lots and lots of dirty words and smutty writing._  
 _Obviously, I don't own "Skip Beat!" or it's characters_

 _._

* * *

.

Ren felt like he was bathing in sin. He stood in the shower, water pounding against his back as he braced himself against the far wall, his hand wrapped firmly around his throbbing member. Panting as he pumped, his eyes closed and the imagining Kyoko's soft body that had been in his hands last night. Needless to say, he had woken to a painful hard-on due to his dreams going much much further than the heavy petting and kissing they had been doing, fueled greatly by the memory of her, the little sounds she had made and how amazing it had been to feel her flesh, even through the fabric of her clothes. He groaned as the pleasure built up more and more in his groin until it exploded outward, filling his body as it traveled up and down his spine in one big wave, then left him spent. It was only a few little seconds of absolute euphoria, but the feeling of relief it left him with was not lost on the man as he watched the creamy white substance from his orgasm wash away with the spray of the shower, flowing down the drain to never be seen again. The man sighed and stood braced against the wall for a little while longer before he washed his body off again and turned off the shower, stepping out and starting his routine for the day. He would be meeting Yashiro outside soon, and then they would go to pick up Kyoko together. He smiled lightly at the thought of seeing her after last night. He was both relieved and sad to take her home last night, wanting to keep her close but knowing that it would have been nearly torturous to have her so close but unable to touch all night. Maybe they could work into having her spend the night on a later date... and perhaps slowly ease into the idea of her spending the night _together_.

.

Kyoko seemed somewhat distracted as she got into the car this morning, though she still greeted them both cheerfully. Ren was a bit surprised when she pulled out a small but somewhat thick book, a blank paper cover on it. Weren't those supposed to have some kind of art pertaining to the story? Why was it blank? It wasn't nearly thick enough to be serving the purpose of protecting the book. She seemed pretty absorbed in it though, making all kinds of faces as her wide eyes traveled across the pages. Was it good? Should he try and check it out later? He certainly preferred reading his scripts, always having work on the mind, but a good book was a good book.

"Reading, Kyoko-chan? Is it related to one of your recent job offers? Which one are you looking in to?" Yashiro asked curiously as he peeked at her in the rear-view mirror. It was an acceptable enough question, especially since any work she decided to pick up would be scheduled by the bespectacled man. Kyoko squeaked and blushed a bit, closing the book a bit quickly. Ren watched with a mixture of curiosity and suspicion. Why did she seem embarrassed about it?

"No, um... this is just a book Moko-er... Kanae-san recommended to me. I'm reading it for personal pleasure..." She paused and blushed, looking down at her own words. Ren's suspicions grew, his curiosity gnawing at him more and more. He was having difficulty imagining her showing an interest in such things as erotic books..., but there was also a lot of things she had grown increasingly interested in as of late. Hell, he wouldn't be secretly dating her now if it weren't for her sudden interest in trying to seduce him, something the girl's mentioned best friend had also had a hand in as far as he knew. He didn't think it would be too far from the realm of possibility that the older girl was encouraging something along these lines yet again. The question was, what brought this on? What was their goal this time? The exploration of seduction for the past couple months had obviously been purposed for Kyoko to pursue him, and it had worked so incredibly well. He felt just a little played by the small girl, but he certainly wasn't complaining, not when it granted him something he had been desiring for so long now.

"Really?" Ren spoke up, quietly noting the look of shock and fear on her face as he showed interest, "you looked really into it. I haven't read a good book in a while. What's it called?" he asked. She looked positively horrified. and so Ren's curiosity and suspicion reached new heights.

"No! That is, um... i-it's nothing Tsuruga-san should bother himself with reading. It's... it's girly stuff, you know? Rom-com and sisterhood, lots of gushing about uh... m-makeup and boys and all that." she scrambles quickly.

"You're reading something like that Kyoko-chan?" Yashiro spoke up again, the girl starting to look like a cornered animal. Ren felt a bit of regret at helping push her that way. He was 90% sure he knew what that book actually was, but it was probably a bad idea to confirm those suspicions in front of their nosy manager.

"Indeed, it's interesting that you would find anything pertaining to love enjoyable to read, let alone for Kotonami-san to have something like that to recommend to you. Is the love-me section perhaps looking into things to help you all graduate?" he asked, trying to help give her an out. He would interrogate her more properly later when they were alone. The relief on her face was so apparent that Ren gave himself a little mental pat on the back.

"R-right! Kanae-san was telling me that it might help to understand these kinds of things better if we read stuff about love. The romance is a bit... out of my tastes, but the friendships are so fun to read about!" she said, expertly acting like a girl gushing about a book about friendship. Ren couldn't help but feel a mixture of pride and wonder at her ability to smoothly latch onto his excuse and make a totally believable lie in her favor. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to peek at what book she was reading as she decided to tuck it back in her bag. He quietly wondered if he could invite her over tonight and try to sneak a peek. Would that be too invasive on her privacy? Probably. It was bad manners to go through a woman's purse... but he's so _curious_!

.

* * *

.

"What are you reading, Kyoko-chan?" Chiori asked curiously as she peeked over Kyoko's shoulder, reading a few lines of the book the girl was absorbed in. Kyoko let out a loud scream, jumping and flinging the book up into the air in her freight before looking to Chiori with shock. Love-Me member #3 tilted her head curiously. "Was that... lesbian erotica? Are you actually into that, Kyoko-chan?" she asked, her eyes widening with curiosity.

"NO!" Kyoko wailed in horror at being caught reading something so embarrassing, as well as how Chiori had gotten such a mislead understanding from it. "I was... That is... I... I borrowed it from Moko-san!" she said quickly. Chiori's eyes widened and her jaw dropped.

"You and Kanae-san are in that kind of relationship?" suddenly, she started to wonder if this room had been used for something other than a simple section's locker room before she joined, looking down at the couch suspiciously. Kyoko, for her part, was absolutely horrified. How was this getting so derailed?

"NOOOOOOOO!" Kyoko wailed, grabbing her head and shaking it wildly, her hair flying about her head messily as she lamented over how this conversation was going in such a direction. Dropping to the floor, Kyoko buried her face in her hands. How could she possibly straighten this out? "No, Amamiya-san... I... Moko-san recommended this to me... to help me understand how to... e-explore my body... and... you know..."

"Masturbate?" Chiori supplied simply. Kyoko looked to the other girl with shock and horror on her face.

"How can you say such a lewd thing so casually?" Kyoko wailed. Chiori frowned lightly and tilted her head in a show of confusion. She knew Kyoko was a bit on the innocent side for a lot of things, but this was... some interesting insight to the girl. She was calling masturbating lewd, but _she_ had been the one reading lesbian erotica in the love-me room.

"Even if it's a bit lewd, that kind of thing is normal, you know." she righted herself again and let out a little laugh as she recalled something. "My mom made sure to explain this kind of thing to me a while back. She's even bought me a vibrator to help. It's super helpful with stress, gets your mind off the things that aggravate you for a little while." she explains simply. Kyoko stared at the girl with open-mouthed shock. Never in her wildest dreams had Kyoko thought someone as modest as Amamiya-san would indulge in these kinds of things, and quite regularly by the sound of it. On top of that... vibrators... Kyoko's eyes slid to the book that was laying skewed on the floor, a couple pages a little crumpled from the rough way she had tossed it. She didn't care about that. Her mind was too focused on the memory of how the characters in the story had been _using_ various kinds of vibrators.

"You... could you explain it a bit to me?"

"Explain what?" Chiori stared at Kyoko, not really understanding what was being asked of her.

"That is... m-masturbating..., and vibrators." Chiori looked away with a light blush, scratching lightly at her jaw as she considered the question. This was far from any topic she had ever pictured herself having with the other girl. The world was full of endless possibilities, she supposed.

"Well..., it's not really something people hold a conversation about. I like you, Kyoko-chan, but... this is a bit much for our friendship. If you want, though, I can get you a brand new vibrator for you to figure that kind of stuff out. They're a safe and harmless toy, but really efficient in getting the job done if you know how to use it." she says, flipping open her phone and already navigating to a web-sight she had visited a few times already. Kyoko stared at the other girl in shock, her voice stuck in her throat. She really would appreciate the help, but how was she supposed to repay Amamiya-san for this kind of thing? Something personal? _'M-maybe some cute underwear?'_ Kyoko wondered, unsure of how to go about it. A personal favor like this should be repaid with something equally personal..., right? "Still, I'm a bit surprised Kanae-san has this kind of book she can lend to you. Is she perhaps...?" Kyoko could already see where this was going.

"No! Moko-san isn't... Or... I don't think so... Moko-san has a lot of different types stashed away. She said they were for studying purposes and she hadn't wanted to look up those kinds of things online, as that is a really good way to get viruses and such. Er... please don't mention this to anyone." Kyoko pleads quickly, desperately trying to stop any strange ideas that might skew the other girl's opinion of Kyoko's best friend. Chiori simply laughed and waved it away.

"Don't even worry about it. I know how private these things are supposed to be. I've read some of that stuff, but most of the time it doesn't really appeal to me. I have some S&M stories I liked stashed away for nights that I'm particularly frustrated with the world, but mostly I just stick to my own imagination." she explains. Kyoko tilted her head curiously at the strange term.

"S... and M?" Chiori paused and looked up to Kyoko, frowning lightly in thought for a moment before her eyes flicked down to the raunchy lesbian erotica that had started this whole conversation. Really, she never would have guessed she would end up in such a strange predicament, let alone with Kyoko. Then again... Kyoko _is_ friends with someone who wears those man-eater panties she had caught her looking at that one time. Whoever wears underwear like that was probably a better person to talk about this kind of stuff with, but... she just couldn't say no to Kyoko's hopeful little face and wide eyes. Chiori sighed as she scrolled down the list of various toys on her phone, looking for something small but suitable for its purpose.

"Sadomasochism," she explains quick and simple, "It's basically the kink where someone enjoys giving or receiving pain or humiliation. Usually it's between two people, a sadist and a masochist, though there are some stories where there's a group with like, a master sadist with several masochists to their will. I usually like ones with a strong and fiery woman who manages to wrap a man around her little finger and bend him to her will. It's especially satisfying to read ones where the guy isn't initially into it, and he's all strong and powerful only to be reduced to a dog begging his master for whatever she'll grant him." Chiori chuckled darkly before holding her phone in front of Kyoko. "How about this one? It's a simple bullet vibrator, slim and easy to hold, but with a point that makes it easy to target smaller pleasure spots. There's also a smaller one that's just a little key-chain, but the type of batteries that one uses can be a hassle to get." she explains. Kyoko looked at the bright pink monstrosity with a slight frown. Why pink?

"Does it come in another color? Pink reminds me a bit too much of Love-Me now." She asked somewhat timidly. Chiori laughed easily at that.

"I understand. Yeah, there's lots of colors you can chose from. What would you prefer?"

Kyoko hummed lightly in thought. This was something to do with sexual desires, so maybe a blue or purple, or even an amber color to remind her of her Corn Stone... and then a different thought struck her.

"What about green?" ' _Like his eyes_.' she thought wistfully, a shiver zipping up her spine as she realized that it might make her fantasize about him more while she was doing those things. Thankfully, Chiori was too focused on her phone to see the little inappropriate shiver of the first love-me member.

"Sure, here's the green they have." she says, showing the forest green vibrator on the screen. Kyoko blushed and nodded, so Chiori clicked "buy", selecting the earliest shipping option as she was used to. "Awesome. I'll put it in your locker when it comes in. Do you also want to borrow one of my books, since you're apparently getting in some studying." Chiori teased lightly. Kyoko chewed her lip thoughtfully at that.

"Do you think... it would be a good idea?" she asked timidly. Chiori simply laughed and waved the question away.

"Yeah, no harm in at least looking into it. Who knows, maybe we'll find another common interest with it. I've got to get going, though. See you later!" Chiori calls as she left to go find her manager. This had definitely not been on her list of expectations for the day. Who would have thought Kyoko of all people would develop such a keen interest in this kind of thing? Then again, Kyoko isn't the kind of girl to do anything half way.

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* * *

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Ren did not get to invite Kyoko over for dinner. He did, however, grow curious at how fidgety she became, sans book, three days later as he and Yashiro took her home after a long day of work.

"Mogami-san, are you alright?" Ren asked worriedly. The girl jumped and looked over to him nervously before looking away and going back to her fidgeting as she clutched her bag tightly in her lap. What was up with her?

"I-I'm fine, Tsuruga-san. I just... I'm eager to get home." she explains. Ren was pretty sure she was covering up something, but decided not to push her. He could at least restrain himself from pressing in Yashiro's prescience. He just wished he had more alone time with her to press in private... and maybe press against her privates. He shook away the thoughts quickly before they could cause a physical problem for him.

As soon as they got to the Daruma-ya, the girl was bowing and thanking them before bolting into the building, a blush barely contained on her face. Ren was confused and a bit worried. Yashiro assumed she was probably dealing with lady troubles or something and didn't want to pry.

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Ren was all the way home and getting ready for bed when he suddenly got a message from Kyoko.

 _KM: **Sorry if I seemed a bit spacey today. I just have a lot on my mind. How are you tonight?'**_ the text read. Ren smiled and quickly sent a reply, not caring how quickly his response would come to her.

* * *

Kyoko stared at her phone as she chewed her lip, holding the little cellular device in one hand while the other hand held the little buzzing vibrator against the folds of her privates. It felt... odd... but also a bit pleasant. She could definitely feel the heightened pleasure when she received a responding text from Ren.

 _RT: **I'm doing fine, Kyoko. It's alright if you're a bit spacey every now and then. I still got to watch you. Do you want to talk about the things bothering you?**_

Kyoko groaned as she shifted the vibrator slowly around, pausing as she focused on formulating her next response, erasing and retyping several times before growing frustrated at having the buzzing against her sensitive lower lips and she simply sent the message. Worst case... she was having a bit of difficulty thinking how things could be effected by her message at the moment. Chiori hadn't been kidding when she said this kind of thing helped get your mind off of things. More like it made all coherent thoughts fly out the window as your mind zeroed in on how the vibrations sent constant tingles through your private area.

KM: **I'm wondering what kinds of things Corn wants to do with me.**

There, she sent it!... And now she could go back to rolling the vibrator against her sensitive lower lips again. She was nervous about trying the 'dirty talk' from the stories Kanae had lent her, but she was too shy to try reading the super kinky book Chiori had left with the vibrator in her locker that day and was feeling so nervous about trying to masturbate... and the characters in the story had started out with dirty messages like this. The more she struggled to get a satisfying fantasy to help her along in her pleasure-seeking, the more appealing the idea of using Ren's texts to masturbate was, even if they weren't overly sexual. She realized in the back of her mind that she had basically just come out and texted him ' _TALK DIRTY TO ME!'_ but her continuously mounting frustration made her brush over it mentally for the time being. Besides, these kinds of things were surely familiar to the man... Kyoko's phone rang and she squeaked as she fumbled the phone in her hand, answering quickly when she saw Tsuruga Ren's name show on her screen.

"H-hello?"

 _"... Kyoko, what are you up to?"_ his voice was soft and deep, using that familiar tone that told her when he was in full Emperor mode. Kyoko licked her lips and swallowed thickly as she rubbed her legs together timidly, having to bite her lip to hold back a moan when the vibrator shifted against her slick pussy lips.

"I... I was attempting dirty texting." she answered, barely keeping her voice steady. Ren was silent for a long pause.

 _"Would you like me to tell you directly instead?"_ he asked slowly, his voice rumbling in her ear making the girl's body tremble.

"Th-that... sounds like a good idea, if Tsuruga-san is willing." she says, her own voice getting a little softer in her shyness. Ren hummed lightly into the phone and her body trembled as she chewed her bottom lip.

 _"Oh, I'm more than willing, Kyoko. But please... call me Corn in private. I like hearing you talk to me so informally."_ he purred. Kyoko let out a little involuntary gasp as she closed her eyes, imagining her senior leaning over her body as he spoke softly in her ear.

"Corn." she whimpered softly. Ren let out a soft curse at the sound, barely audible in the phone before his voice became clear again.

 _"Kyoko, are you touching yourself?"_ He asked slowly. Kyoko licked her lips as she contemplated what answer to give, rolling the vibrator slowly around her entrance.

"Yes..." she finally breathed. There was a low groan in her ear and her body squirmed at the alluring sound.

 _"How wet are you? Tell me what it feels like."_ he moaned softly. Kyoko panted slowly as she pinched the phone between her shoulder and her ear, reaching down with her other hand as she continued to twirl the vibrator around slowly.

"It's... really slippery. It's getting all over my hands and my vibrator." she says, too lost in the pleasure of hearing his voice coupled with the toy teasing her private parts in a way she had never experienced before.

 _"Oh? So you got a vibrator."_ Ren purred before chuckling lightly. _"Let me pleasure you with it, Kyoko. I want to tease your slit with it, running from the bottom to the top while I fondle your soft breasts."_ he states. Kyoko eagerly moved her hands in the way he was describing, holding one of her breasts with one hand while the other made the motion to run the side of the vibrator up her slit, the girl giving a soft cry as it pressed past the top. She recognized that part from her reading. The clitoris was a little bundle of nerves that was incredibly sensitive. It felt like electricity zipped through her body as the vibrator pressed against it. The man moaned into the phone pressed against her ear, making the girl pant harder as she imagined him with her, doing these things he was promising and she was mimicking. _"I want to lick and kiss you all over, to devour your moans as I kiss you. I want to press that little vibrator against your clit as I taste every last inch of your sweet skin."_ he was panting heavily in the phone now and she could just barely make out the sound of wet sounds coming from his end. She tried to imagine the strange piece that he would have between his legs, but all she could think of is a skin-colored mushroom. Would it feel good to touch? Would it feel good inside her?

"Corn," she whimpered out pleadingly, "Corn, please, touch me more." she whimpered and moaned, squirming on the bed and barely consious of her blurring vission as she pressed and rolled the vibrater against her Clit. Oh, it felt so GOOD!

 _"Oh, I'll touch you. I'll feel your soft skin, moving my hands down your sides and to your hips. Then I'll slowly inch closer to your secret place, closer, closer, until I brush against those sweet slick lips, feeling how wet you are for me."_

"Corn!" she gasped, arching up as her fingertips glided along the slick lips of her pussy.

 _"Don't finish yet, Kyoko. I still have so much more in store for you. I'll tease your clit with the vibrator while I slowly slip a finger into you, feeling around as your juices coat my hand."_

"Corn please!" she begged in a whimper, barely able to keep her voice down so as to keep her land lords from hearing her shameless play.

 _"I'll feel around your slippery walls, wiggling my finger inside you as I roll your vibrator gently against your clit. I'll add another finger and slowly start to thrust them, in~ and out, in~ and out."_ Kyoko squirmed on her bed restlessly as her mind fogged, heat radiating off her body so much that she had to kick off her blankets. She was so wet, loud suction sounds reaching her ears as she slowly slipped her fingers into herself in time with Corn's panted words, the vibrator only serving to making everything so much more sensitive. _"In and out. In and out."_ he was starting to slowly speed up now, and Kyoko panted heavily as she followed his instructions to a T, whimpering as she squirmed and pumped faster, the juicy sloshing noises getting more prominent as she grew more wet.

"Corn!" she gasped, arching and thrashing about wildly as her body convulsed and her toes curled, her vision swimming in a world full of white fog, pleasure coursing through her as she felt her juices cover her hand completely. The man grunted out her name and then went quiet, the two of them simply panting and listening to the other as they came down from their orgasms. Kyoko moaned lightly as she slowly pulled her fingers out of her pussy and turned off the vibrator, setting it off to the side until further notice. Her limbs felt so heavy and wobbly, as if she had just finished a long sprint. She didn't think she had the energy to do anything but lay there for a while.

 _"Kyoko, are you still there?"_

"Y-yes, Corn." she responded timidly. Corn chuckled lightly on the other end, but she didn't have the energy to feel mad over the possibility of him laughing at her. Instead, she listened and felt a little tingle of happiness at the sound.

 _"Good. How are you feeling?"_

"Um... heavy... but also really light and floaty at the same time."

 _"That's good. You must have had a very nice orgasm. I wish I could have seen it."_

"Co~rn!" she whined, turning on her side to look away from the little vibrator, blushing brightly. "Why are you saying embarrassing things still? We already finished." Ren hummed lightly in response, sounding somewhat smug even in that little sound somehow.

 _"It's the truth, though. I would love to see how you look in the throws of passion. I eagerly await for you to give me permission to touch you in all the ways I desire."_ he huskily admitted. Kyoko fidgeted lightly as she considered such a thing.

"Let... let me consider it."

 _"... Really?"_ He sounded so hopeful. Kyoko blushed at how eager he seemed to be about it all.

"Y-yeah, I'll think about it. Just give me some time."

 _"Of course."_ he breathed out.

* * *

"You had _phone sex_ with him?" Kanae asked incredulously. Kyoko jumped and covered the older girl's mouth quickly.

"Huuuuuush, Moko-san! What if someone hears you?" Kyoko fretted. Kanae rolled her eyes and bat the hands from her mouth in annoyance.

"Relax. No one is going to hear us as long as we stay in my room with the door shut. But still... you had phone sex. I have to admit, I'm quite impressed. I'm a bit surprised to know that Amamiya-san has such a big interest in this kind of thing, though it does make sense the more I think about it. She's definitely a 'dominate my lover' kind of person, and she doesn't seem like the type to rely on others for her pleasure." Kanae trailed off for a moment as a stray thought had her wondering how many toys the seemingly innocent girl might have... and what types. Quickly, she shook away the thought. It wasn't her business, and she didn't really want to know, anyway. "Enough about that, though. How phone sex with the 'Great Tsuruga Ren'? I still don't want any details, of course, but I have to ask how you felt about it." Kanae laughed, watching her modest friend fidget awkwardly in her spot.

"Well... I definitely enjoyed it... and then he said he wished he could have seen it... and I think I want to let him." she admits timidly. Kanae rose her eyebrows curiously at that, staring at the younger girl with interest.

"So you want to masturbate in front of him? Sorry, but I doubt he would be able to keep his hands off of you if you tried that." she said, shaking her head lightly. It might work in eight-to-ten years or so, but she seriously doubted it. Kyoko poked her pointer fingers together timidly.

"No, that... that's actually a bit of what I was hoping for." Kyoko admits. Kanae looked to Kyoko with surprise.

"Well..., then go ahead. I'm sure he'll appreciate it, too." she states simply, wanting to end the topic there. Kyoko gave a shy little grin.

* * *

 _ahhhh, sweet smut. This story is only just beginning, and already Kyoko is driving Ren delightfully mad with her antics. I already have ideas in mind for the next chapter, which I had initially planned on putting in this one but it didn't quite flow in that direction yet. We'll have to see how much time I get to actually sit down and write, but it should be coming within the next week. Hopefully..._

 _Thank you to everyone who had followed, favorited, and/or commented thus far. You have no idea how happy I am to see notifications in my inbox telling me that people enjoyed my work. As show of my thanks..._

 _Alitablake: I'm glad you gave this fic a chance and were able to enjoy it. Your comment actually helped me drive this chapter in the direciton that it did. That is to say, I kept thinking about how exactly Chiori would end up getting involved but only just so. Kanae is still the best friend and always will be, in my opinion. Chiori would definitely lend her aid, but I can't see her wanting to get any more involved past the possible swapping of books they find every now and then, should Kyoko pick up an interest in this kind of thing. It did end up addressing a different topic than I was originally intending for this chapter, but I **definitely** don't think that's a bad thing. In fact, I'm glad this came up before the thing I was thinking about before, so thank you. :)_

 _Ktoll9: thank you for coming back for this. I hope you continue to enjoy it, and please feel free to recommend topics you think would come up as Kyoko learns more about the adult world of intimacy._

 _Ashenvale: Thank you so much for coming back for the continuation. Hope you like smut and health education, because I plan on having a LOT of that in here. :] I don't plan on taking too long between chapters. I love writing too much, and I have a lot of pent up sexual frustration due to my fiance and I abstain for the past year leading up to our wedding (we wanted to make the wedding night more memorable and meaningful, but it's secretly KILLING ME!) The only time you may have to worry about a long break is when I'll be away to Italy for two weeks for our honeymoon, but that's all the way in the middle of September, so you'll have plenty of smut to keep you entertained by then._

 _A Musing Brunette: You are absolutely right. One of the reasons I started this was because I really wanted to show how Kanae could be a very valuable and important friend to Kyoko. She's a bit prideful and likes to show up Ren with how close her friendship with Kyoko is, but I don't really see contempt in her actions, so I wanted to show her in a positive light to fellow readers. It just so happens that it went really well with my love of smut and the desire to show people a healthy approach to these kinds of things._

 _._

 _Thank you for reading, and see you next chapter!_


	3. Chapter 3

_I should really break this habit of writing till 6 in the morning when I have work around 9, or at least not post the things I write until I have time to go over them later._

 _That being said, I did go back over the previous chapter and fix it up. Nothing has changed story-wise, but it's a bit smoother and more pleasant to read now. It felt so choppy before and I'm really sorry to anyone that may have faced disappointment upon reading it._  
 _I know I can do better. I was just being impatient and sleep-deprived._

 _Kyoko faces the obstacle of male anatomy. Heavy smut in this chapter ;) enjoy_

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* * *

Kyoko frowned as she read the paragraph for the third time. She was having difficulty visualizing what a man's... privates would look like. She could pretty much understand that it was somewhat tubular in shape, probably somewhat like the vibrator she had, but bigger? It was apparently a good "handful" for the female main character to grab, descriptions like "long" and "thick" and "firm velvet" being thrown around willy-nilly. She also understood that the "head" referenced over and over was the same that she had learned about from Tsuruga-san when she questioned him on what it meant when people used the term "thinking with the wrong head". She blushed just from remembering that horrid conversation. It had been so _awkward_! Even so, she recalled the conversation a bit more fondly now than she had back then. Now that she was dating the man in question, it was a memory that she gave a small amount of credit for how their intimate relationship had developed and progressed. She shook out of her musings and focused on the paragraph once again. The lesbian erotica she had read had a few terms in it that she had to use context clues and a bit of self-exploration to understand, but there hadn't been anything that she just outright couldn't visualize and understand. The firm velvet terminology was confusing enough on it's own, but then it started talking about some... skin that had to be rolled back? Why? Was it like a wrapper? did it stay back once it was unwrapped? Did the skin even _have_ a purpose? Was it purely for sex? Like the clitoris? Did it hurt if she did it wrong? Her head spun as various questions posed themselves to her, unanswered and branching into even _more_ unanswerable questions.

Kyoko groaned and flopped backward onto Kanae's bed as the girl looked over to her with a raised eyebrow.

"Getting frustrated?" Kanae asked, silently laughing at the double meaning but not showing a single hint of her humor on her face. Kyoko sighed heavily and looked over to her friend with a major pout.

"Moko-san, what does it look like?" She asked. Kanae stared quietly for a moment, before turning back to her script without a word. "Moko-sa~n!" Kyoko whined and launched herself at the older girl.

"Mo! Get off me! I don't even want to know which thing you're trying to visualize right now!" Kyoko sniffled as she sat pitifully in front on her friend.

"I... I don't know what a... a _dick_ looks like." Kyoko admits, practically whispering the dirty word. Kanae groaned and rolled her eyes before setting her script down. She would take cure of her character assessment after she took care of this troublesome innocent.

"It's like... I don't know, a weird mushroom or something."

"I kind of got that image, but then this book started talking about extra skin or something, and now I'm all lost again." Kyoko sighed heavily. Kanae sighed and let her head rest in her hand as she finally realized what the issue is.

"That's because the character is uncircumcised." Kyoko was giving her that hopeful gaze again, that was clearly expecting Kanae to have an answer to all her questions on life. The raven-haired beauty let out a long whining groan as she anticipated the coming questions she would be bombarded with. She supposed this was her own fault. Kyoko, sweet innocent Kyoko, had been exposed to this world all because of her suggestion for the spunky teen to pursue Tsuruga Ren with the art of seduction. Now that Kyoko had gotten a foothold in her knowledge of the mature world, Kanae was cursed to eternal suffering by innocent questions over the most embarrassing and perverted of things.

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* * *

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 _"Some guys are cut, and some aren't. There's no way of knowing what a guy has until you either see it or he tells you."_ Kanae's words echoed in Kyoko's mind as she lay in her bed, staring at the ceiling. She couldn't just come out and ask Tsuruga Ren... ask Corn weather he was circumcised or not. Well..., she _could_ , because he's her _boyfriend_ and had given her permission -multiple times actually- to explore him and ask him questions as much as she wanted. He wanted to make sure she was comfortable with their progress, and she was happy for that... except that this was something she hadn't been able to get off her mind. **_All. Day._** But she was too shy and embarrassed and... it just couldn't get past her throat. It certainly hadn't helped that even when Yashiro gave them short little breaks alone as he walked off to make calls, she never knew how long he would be and couldn't bring herself to risk him coming back to them having an embarrassing conversation like that. Nope! Not happening! Instead, she had resorted to letting her eyes check out her secret boyfriend's crotch when she thought no one was paying attention to her. She found it was a lot easier to be discreet about it when Ren was further away, but then she kept thinking about how much she wanted him closer. It was an endless cycle of desire and curiosity.

Kyoko groaned and rolled onto her side, looking at her phone as it lay silently next to her pillow. She could probably just text him and ask... but... no, she couldn't do it! It was just so indecent! Having physical evidence of that kind of blatant question on her phone was even worse, and she couldn't call him to ask! What kind of conversation would that be?

 _ **"** Hey Corn, I was just wondering if you were circumcised? Oh? Thank you, goodnight!"_ she mocked herself in a soft voice before lifting up and smashing her face into her pillow a few times. "That won't doooo!" she cried, hugging the pillow tightly until she had to release it and lift her face for air. She glared and pouted at her wall, silently trying to think up a plan on how to figure out what Corn looked like without embarrassing herself to death. Really, if any more blood rushed to her face, her head might explode.

Maybe... she could spend the night soon. They had been having dinner at his place once or twice a week since they started dating, but she had yet to spend the night. On top of that, she knew Tsuruga-san's routine thanks to their time on the "dangerous mission"... dangerous mission indeed. She stuffed her face into her pillow again and heaved a heavy sigh. In light of recent events, she now understood that the "dangerous" part of that job hadn't been the possibility of being found out. Sure, that was technically true that it was a concern, but now she had a sneaking suspicion that the real danger had been the test of Tsuruga-san's limits, if he would attack her out of desire or not... She rolled to stare up at her ceiling again, chewing her lip as she recalled that night he had completely dropped character, showing her some person she didn't know underneath it all. She brought up her hand, gently brushing her fingertips over the area of his chest he had touched, her mind helpfully reminding her of his eyes burning into her as he offered to mark her, fingers starting to tug at her top. What would have happened if she hadn't taken control of the situation at that time? Would he have stripped her? It certainly seemed that way. Would he have put his mouth on her? That had been part of the promise to mark her, wasn't it? Kyoko blushed at the thought. Would he have kissed her? Where? On her breasts? Would he have played with her nipples? Licked them? sucked on them? Kyoko chewed her lip as she trailed her hand lightly over her skin, sensitive to the touch and growing even more so when she imagined it to be Ren... Corn's hand on her. She panted and felt along her rib-cage, trailing upward before gently starting to fondle her breast, rolling it around and fiddling with her nipple using one finger. She whimpered out her desire, imagining him under her as she pulled down that zipper, sliding her hands up his sides and pushing his top off. Oh, those abs. Those pecks. Those arms. She wanted to feel them against her. She hadn't appreciated them nearly enough during their make-outs and the hugs she granted him. she could certainly hug him more. Corn reveled in any physical contact she granted him. It was like he was starved for it, and the thought made her run her hands over her body even more enthusiastically. If she were to let him touch her, he would definitely do it with great eagerness, a hunger in his eyes as he devoured her with his hands and mouth. Kyoko panted and squirmed, then slowly slid her hand down to her already slick pussy. It felt so sensitive and tender, the lips a bit puffy from her excitement, something she was happy to know she understood thanks to the lesbian erotica she had read. She didn't really feel any sexual attraction to other girls, but it hadn't been so bad, reading the one that Moko had lent her. She was easily able to imagine it as two girls exploring their bodies together, the love being so... simple and pure, in a strange way. It was still very sexual and perverted, but... there was just something about it that made it feel that way to her. The book she had set aside, however, finished but still difficult to grasp due to her lack of knowledge on various things, that book heavily emphasized on the desire to feel and touch and having sex... lots and lots of sex and "cumming" and "shooting out" and just... pure _desire_. She asked Kanae about it when they had a brief moment to themselves. The older girl had said that vampires have always been very sexually-inspired in stories. People get drawn in by the mystery and danger and the _mouth on skin_. Kyoko had bemoaned her ability to pick out the most sexal book Kanae could have given her... only for the older girl to state that it _isn't_ the most sexual book on her shelf. Kyoko was a bit too shy and scared to ask further on that particular topic.

She played with herself more, her swimming mind making it harder to actually have an orgasm. She sighed and picked up her phone, looking at the time longingly. It was getting a bit late, but he often worked late. She sighed and ran her thumb over the edges of the phone a few times before opening a text to her senpai.

KM: **'Made it home safe yet?'**

she sent it quickly before she could change her mind, startling slightly when a response came quickly.

RT: _**'Just got in a little less than an hour ago. Missing me already?'**_

She could practically hear the teasing deep baritone he would use while speaking those words to her. She chewed her lip to unsuccessfully hold back her grin as she typed out her reply.

KM: **'Of course I miss you. You make it so hard to focus on work.'**

RT: _**'Mmmm, well I could say the same about you. You have no idea how difficult it is to focus on reading my script when all I want to do is hold you and kiss you, just barely out of arms reach.'**_

KM: **'Does that mean I shouldn't come over tomorrow for dinner? I know you have that new script to look over. I wouldn't want to distract you. ;) '**

RT: _**'Or you could read it with me so I don't have to be distracted by wondering what you're up to without me.'**_

Kyoko giggled at his antics. His flirting has certainly reached new heights ever since they started dating. He behaved himself well enough in public, only slipping in subtle little hints to her when there wasn't the risk of other people noticing, but it was a whole other story when they were alone somewhere. He loved to hug her and stare at her and give a continuous stream of compliments. She honestly didn't know what to do wit it. She wasn't used to being so... showered in affection and love. Was it a foreigner thing? But she had realized as of late that he really _didn't_ let anyone else get close to him. Even when she had a small jealous moment from watching a coworker flirt with him, she had settled down with plenty of time in Yashiro's car, realizing that Ren was usually willing to let people do whatever they liked to him, but he always kept himself emotionally unavailable and his body was always so tense until he would settle into the privacy of his home and melt into his couch with a sigh.

KM: **'Why do I get the feeling there's some kissing scene you want to get lost in?'**

RT: _**'Are you insinuating that I plan on intentionally breaking character in light of my unbearable attraction to you?'**_

 _ **'Though..., I have to admit that it's a tempting thought.'**_

His second text came quickly, popping up as soon as she finished reading the first and she giggled.

KM: **'I think that might not be such a bad experience.'**

RT: _**'Why don't we kiss first, then read the script after?'**_

KM: **'Because nothing would get done due to your insatiable appetite. You would just keep kissing me until we couldn't help but fall asleep from sheer exhaustion. If you craved food the way you crave kisses, I wouldn't have to worry so much about your meals.'**

There was a long pause before his reply finally came this time.

RT: _**'I think I like the idea of kissing you into exhaustion.'**_

Kyoko let out a raspberry of laughter, her face bright red as she stared at her screen.

KM: **'I think I like the idea of getting a proper meal into both of us before getting a shower and going to bed.'**

RT: _**'I would like that a lot more if you would join me.'**_

Kyoko pursed her lips as she glared at the message, her face so incredibly hot in her embarrassment. How to respond to that message... Was he talking about joining for the food, shower, or the bed? If she was honest, all of them were quite appealing. It reminded her a bit of the time as the Heel siblings, though. The time she had walked in on him while he was in the shower... She bemoaned the fact that she had missed that chance to look down and see him back then. Maybe then she could have understood the weird vampire erotica a bit better. But... this was a good chance, wasn't it? If she said yes, she would have another chance to see him, to find out what he looked like down there. Her phone notified her of another message and she looked up at it curiously.

RT: _**'You don't have to of course.'**_

 _ **'I'm not going to push you into anything. I like you being comfortable with me.'**_

 _ **'Sorry, I got carried away.'**_

The rapid-fire texts trying to fix some non-existent mistake brought a smile to Kyoko's face as an idea struck her.

KM: **'Of course. I would very much like to join you'**

There was a long pause, and then;

RT: _**'Ou'**_

 _ **'YoU mEan that?'**_

 _ **'wait'**_

 _ **'What will you be joining me in?'**_

Kyoko giggled at the obvious eagerness that lined those texts.

KM: **'under one condition.'**

RT: _**'Which one are y'**_

 _ **'ignore that'**_

 _ **'oaky'**_

 _ **'Okay*'**_

Oh, this was too much fun. She could easily imagine his conflict of being so eager to know what she was agreeing to, but eager to take anything she would give him. What was that saying? Throw a dog a bone? Tsuruga-san had certainly had a likeness to a cat before they started dating, cautious and careful and precise. Now, though, he was very much like a dog, eager and antsy and he awaited her decisions. She almost felt bad about it, but then she knew it would be worth it in the end. She really wanted to see how he reacted to her idea.

KM: **'You have to promise that you won't try to send me home.'**

RT: _ **'I promise, as long as you don't push me into hurting you.'**_

That brought a smile to the girl's face. Corn was truly the most compassionate and loving person she had ever met... aside from maybe Kuu-sensei [aka father]. When the conversation tapered off into little 'goodnight' texts from each of them, Kyoko felt much more at ease, not even bothering to try and masturbate afterward. She didn't need to, not when she was feeling so happy and peaceful from talking to her loving boyfriend.

.

.

* * *

.

"Make yourself at home." Ren stated, watching the girl as she slipped into his apartment easily, already grown quite accustomed to it as she went to set her over night bag in the guest room but left her little purse on his living room couch. He quietly wondered if she would accept his spare key so she could come by whenever she wanted, but decided to broach that subject later, preferably after she joined him in whatever way it was that he had promised, still not clarifying for him at all throughout the day, just by the way.

Dinner was delicious as expected, and Ren eagerly told her how much her loved her food as she blushed and fidgeted cutely before him.

He helped her with cleaning up the dishes, then they settled in the living room with the script, Kyoko pleasantly tucked under his arm as they read it out loud together. Despite the teasing texts they had shot back and forth, there was no kissing scene to distract them from finishing the read-through, a fact that had Kyoko raising a curious eyebrow at him. Ren merely chuckled and stated that he wouldn't mind adding a kiss scene just for her. He wasn't expecting the sexy little smirk she sent him in response, followed by her hand sliding slowly from his stomach up his chest and resting on his shoulder as she leaned in. He eagerly accepted her little advancement. He always loved these rare little moments when she initiated.

"Kyoko," he breathed her name as he felt her hands sliding around in little circles on his chest and abdomen. She hummed lightly in response as she started kissing along his jaw, one hand slowly sliding up his neck and into his hair, gripping it lightly. Ren didn't see the smirk that pulled at her lips as she watched his eyes roll closed, but he _did_ notice when he felt her teeth start to scrape lightly along his neck, occasionally interrupted by a delicate kiss as she trailed down to his collar bone. Wasn't he going to say something to her? What was he going to say? He couldn't remember any more. All he could think about was her hands and mouth and teeth and all the sensations she was bringing him with them. She licked a spot on his collar and he let out a low moan, worrying lightly as the girl froze against him. His eyes snapped open and he looked down to her. Whatever he had been planning to say was lost completely yet again as she tugged firmly on his hair to force his head backward. He grunted lightly, then gasped as her mouth began hungrily licking and suckling whatever skin she could find. "Kyoko" his breathless moan got her attention and she pulled her mouth away from chest to whisper in his ear instead.

"What is it, Corn?" she hummed seductively. God, where had she learned to do this? The man swallowed thickly as his mind blanked. None of his words were staying with him tonight.

"You... I... can I touch you?" he breathed. The sexy smirk she replied with had his already tightening pants straining to contain him.

"I suppose I can allow you to touch... If you remove your shirt." she bargained. He all too readily complied, throwing off his shirt only to pause as she held up a hand, placing it on his chest. "Hold on Corn," she giggled cutely, amber eyes flicking up to meet his as her smirk widened, "I want to look at you a bit more."

"You can look at me all you want after I've devoured you." The Emperor purred. Something flashed in her gaze that he didn't recognize. He pressed forward, trapping her between his arms as he leaned over her on the couch, taking her lips with his own. He kissed her long and passionately, then felt she was comfortable enough for him to advance further. Lifting his left hand, he cradled her jaw with it as he continued to move his lips against hers, then slowly began to trail his hand downward, finding a perky little breast and rolling it gently. Their passionate kisses broke as the girl gasped and arched up into his hand with a needy whimper.

Kyoko never would have guessed how different it felt to have one of Ren's large hands feeling on her opposed to her own. Those hands, big, warm, supportive, felt so amazingly good as they rolled her breast, tracing along the underside before smoothing down her side and to her hip. She bent a leg up eagerly as his hand trailed further downward, all the way to her knee as her skirt hiked up at the motion. He hummed pleasantly as he dipped his head to kiss gently at her neck, flattening his tongue to lap at her soft skin. The feel of her hands gripping at his bare shoulders encouraged him and his hand trailed up her thigh, squeezing the soft flesh there gently.

"Corn~!" she whimpered out. The Emperor of the Night chuckled at her adorable yet sexy sounds. 'I'm such a sinner' he thought with mild humor before his other hand joined the fun, feeling on her hip and side slowly as he busied his mouth with kissing down the valley between her chest. "Corn, let me up for a second." she says, pushing lightly at his shoulders. He sat back, looking down at her worriedly as he fretted that he might have gone too far, but then she stripped off her shirt and his eyes widened at the sight of her exposed little white bra. She looked up at him timidly, her shyness returning with a vengeance as she hugged the newly exposed torso and peeked up at him. Ren smirked and dove right back in, kissing at her stomach and chest over and over. His hands hungrily took up the task of feeling as much of her as they could, though he made sure to focus on her sides and hips when he noticed her cry out a little more passionately as he brushed his fingertips over them lightly.

Kyoko panted and moaned as his hands explored her body, feeling all over her torso with both hands and mouth. She tried to regain some control, grabbing his head and sitting up as she kissed him passionately. Ren moaned lightly into her kiss, guiding her soft lips open with his own and starting the slow but hungry movement between them. Taking advantage of her upright position, he slid his hands from her sides to her back. It had been quite some time since he had done this, but he eventually managed to flick her bra open and she didn't object as the little garment fell from her chest, exposing perky little buds, a dark peachy color, and begging for attention. The Emperor was all too eager to comply with the silent calling, cupping her breast with one hand, rolling it around and lightly flicking her nipple with his thumb as the other hand was busy inching up her thigh under her skirt again so that he could get a nice full grip of her ass.

"Corn" she whimpered out pleadingly. Ren moaned and rolled her breast as he pushed forward, laying her on the couch again as she lost herself in the pleasure of his touch and the deep kisses he refused to stop. Kyoko dove her hands in his hair once again, tugging at the strands and loving the moans he returned to her as he rubbed his tongue against her shy one, guiding hers into his mouth so he could suckle on it and then allowing her to mimic the action. He loved the feel of her little mouth sucking gently on his tongue, followed by a sloppy battle between the muscles in their mouths, an odd and new sensation coming with it as he explored more and more things he had only ever dreamed of doing to the girl.

She felt so wet now, the panties moist and uncomfortable as she fidgeted her legs together. She was ecstatic when she felt his hand finally dip to feel at the crotch of her panties, his thumb pressing at the spot and against her clit slightly. She cried and whimpered loudly with need while noting that, while she had him practically eating out of her palm and begging her softly when speaking on the phone, the tables were completely turned over once he had his hands _on her_. Everything he did to her felt so good, and she couldn't for the life of her tell if this was what it felt like to be touched, or if this was simply so amazingly wonderful because it was _him_ touching her. She had a strong suspicion that it was the later, and it warmed her body deep down to think that this was something special that the two of them shared together. Ren lowered his head and slowly ran his tongue over one of her nipples, reveling in the sharp gasp she took as her arms wrapped around his head and hugged it to her chest lightly as he began suckling on the perky little nub. Her skin tasted so wonderful, as odd as that thought was. Skin was skin, often salty from sweat. This was Kyoko, though, and so he loved the unique taste of skin as he licked and sucked on any spot he could. Kyoko let out a whimper and released his head, reaching down shyly under her skirt, peering up into his eyes timidly as she started to pull the panties off. Ren happily reached down and grabbed them, yanking them the rest of the way down off her legs before tossing them somewhere in his apartment without a care.

The smell of her arousal had him leaning in and inhaling a deep breath of the musky scent. Kyoko's eyes blew wide as she pushed his head away from where it was nearing between her legs.

"C-Corn, what are you doing?" she asks mortified. A smirk pulled at his lips as hooded eyes cracked open to peer up at her from between her knees, the girl desperately trying to push his head up and away from that place.

"Won't you trust me, Kyoko?" he asked. She looked so conflicted but, slowly, she pulled her arms away and hugged them tightly to her chest as she watched her senpai gently spread her legs and press his nose into her nether region. A shiver coursed through her whole body as she felt his tongue slide up her slit slowly, sending her gasping and shooting her hands into his hair yet again. She struggled to stay aware of her surroundings as the man quickly started lapping and sucking and kami knows what else! All Kyoko knew, was it was driving her crazy as she felt the wet wiggly tongue pleasing her pussy in various ways, the occasional sucking on her clit being a strange yet thrilling experience. She was just starting to consider telling him about the vibrator in the bag at the end of the couch, but then she felt one of his fingers slide into her entrance. She gasped and squirmed wildly as little shivers racked through her body. There was just too much stimulation! With a burst of white haze, Kyoko arched and gripped Ren's dark hair with one hand as the other desperately scratched desperately at the couch cushions under her.

"C-Corn!" she cried out passionately as a powerful orgasm spread through her veins, heating her body and leaving her mind blank with pleasure, jolting zaps making her gasp and twitch wildly as Ren moved his finger around inside her. Her legs kicked and her whole body squirmed about like a fish out of water as Ren drew out her finish to new heights. "Corn! It's too much! W-wait! No! I... I need to..." she gasped and her body shivered as another wave of pleasure stacked onto the first, making her moan loudly in pleasure as her eyes rolled and she felt moisture pour from her boy. She whimpered and started trying to push him. Did she really just loose control of her bladder? She was finally getting to experience these things with the man she had fallen so hard for, and she screwed it all up! Her eyes watered and she sniffled loudly, worrying the man.

"Kyoko? What wrong? I'm sorry. Did I push you too much? I'm so sorry." Ren's voice was panicky as he desperately apologized. Kyoko sniffled as he gathered her into his arms, pressing her hot body into his bare chest and the moved her head so she could hide her face better.

"I... I wet the couch." she whimpered out shamefully. What was worse, she hadn't even finished so she STILL needed to go, and she was now afraid she was going to shame herself past no return. Ren went silent for a moment before she felt his large hand soothingly petting her head.

"Kyoko, if you're suggesting you had an accident, I can assure you that you didn't." he states. Kyoko's quivering in his arms ceased as she tensed up. But... she could have sworn...

"I... I didn't?"

"No," Ren chuckled, kissing the top of her head, "Though you did cum and get your wet all over my couch. I think I'll take responsibility for that, though. Even if you did end up having an accident, Kyoko, I would be a terrible man for blaming you for it, as I would have been the one to cause it." he explains as he gently released her so that he could hold his hand in between them and show her the slimy juices glistening on it. Kyoko blushed at the sight of the viscus fluid rating little strands between his fingers as he opened and closed them in a show of how much of the substance was there. Ren had the most mischievous and heated grin she had ever seen on him as he watched her reaction. "You came so much. I can only imagine how wonderful you would feel around me." he purred seductively. Kyoko's wide eyes flicked back up to meet his, her face heating considerably at that insinuation. He wanted to have sex with her? She swallowed thickly.

"Yeah? Do you think about it a lot?" she asked timidly, her body tingling with delight as the Emperor of the Night sent his heavy bedroom eyes at her.

"Practically every night. I'm always dreaming of you in my arms, wrapped around me, moaning and thrashing about as I take you over and over, in all kinds of positions." he huskily admitted, loving the bright blush that made itself apparent on her face.

"I... I see. That... might be a bit too soon right now, but..." she licked her lips as she lightly felt on his chest, nervously trailing her hands down his torso, reveling in the feel of his hard abs, tracing the top of his pants around the waist, and then slowly gliding her hand town to feel the very hard bulge straining against the fabric. Her eyes widened a bit as she felt it. her hand easily making out the shaft through his pants. Ren let out a low moan, his hand coming down to rest on her hip. She felt the slimy substance of her juices smear bwteen his hand and her hip, but decided not to think too much on it as she focused on the very hard bulge in her boyfriend's pants.

"Kyoko," Ren moaned, his fingers twitching against her. She peeked up at his expression, finding him staring at her with obvious need as he panted, eyes fluttering when she gripped and rolled him in his pants. He groaned and clenched his jaw as his eyes fluttered shut. Kyoko watched all his reactions in wonder. It looked like he also struggled to maintain control when she touched him. She grinned as she absorbed the information, a bit pleased to know she could effect him the same way he did to her. It really made their mutual feelings for one another apparent, or at least the physical attraction of it all. She found she quite liked it. She felt so powerful, so sexy, desired, loved. "Kyoko, I haven't showered yet." he panted heavily, struggling to form his words as she rubbed him. She paused as she watched his expression struggle to settle on one emotion; desire, love, desperation, worry, frustration, pleasured.

"Your shower?" she asked, still not stopping her movements against him. With this shape she could barely make out through his clothes, she found herself thinking it was certainly _shaped_ like it was supposed to go into that place... but it seemed a bit big.

"Yeah, I sweat a lot today, so it might be a bit... less appealing if you try to do anything with it right now." he explained. Kyoko hummed lightly, curiosity mounting. Ren watched with wide eyes as the girl sat up and pushed him into laying on his back, looking up at her as she sat on one of his legs and fiddled with his belt, a curious and determined look on her face.

"I want to see all kinds of parts of Corn." she explained simply as she tugged his belt open and then managed to undo the button on his pants. He held his breath as he let her undo his zipper, his dick springing out and straining against the fabric of his boxer-briefs instantly. Kyoko paused as she smelt the heavy musk nearly instantly. Her eyes flicked up to meet his own, finding his worried expression gazing back at her and she grinned. It was nice to know he could get nervous too. She reached down and gripped the obvious shaft through his underwear, watching with curiosity as his eyes fluttered closed and he took in a quick breath. She chewed her lip as she tried to hold back her grin, gripping and rolling the piece experimentally as she watched the man turn to putty under her hands. This could be quite fun.

.

* * *

 _Cock-blocking writer is here!_

 _Did you enjoy the smut? Ha ha. What am I asking, of course you did, fellow pervert._  
 _I wrote a little further than planned, but I think it's good._

 _I looked at so much porn and slutty pictures in an attempt to figure out what would be the most likely color of Kyoko's nipples, because ever girl is different and I didn't want my preferences for nipples reflect too much in that aspect. This isn't about my preferences. It's about Ren's love of her and how much he would love her nipples simply because they're hers. It's a minuscule thing, but I've had times in the past that the description of her nipples just... didn't really match her well in my mind and it drew me out of the story for a moment, which isn't duper fun when you're trying to read smut._  
 _That being said... I got a LOT of search results that showed nipple clamps and Japanese women breast feeding their sexual partner, just in case anyone was curious about what kinds of things I had to sort through._  
 _I also looked back on the cannon chapter that showed Seana's nipples (because girls often have a similar nipple appearance as their mothers) and found that they were drawn fairly small and light, though not like... light pink light. It's a bit difficult since the pages are in black and white, but I could tell they weren't super dark. They looked like a perfectly middle-tone shade to me, so I went with a more rosy color, something that would match well with Kyoko's skin tone based on cover art, something not too light an not so dark that I start imagining little milk duds on pale skin. By no means do I think dark nipples are bad, but it just didn't fit my image of her based off the research I did._

 _Next I get to do lots of research on what Ren/Kuon's dick might look like. Something tells me this won't be quite as enjoyable as looking up breasts and nipples :p_  
 _The things I do for my writing._

 _I know circumcision is a big debate for a lot of people, so I'll do my best to be unbiased when writing this out. I've only really had experience with mine, but I've had plenty of detailed conversations with my friends, both the guys and the girls, and it's not like I've had a shortage of seeing dicks when looking at porn._  
 _Even so, I'm certainly open to the opinions of others until I write out the next chapter. Everyone has different experiences pertaining to this kind of thing, so I have to keep in mind that this isn't about me. This is about the reader and the characters._

 _The little piece of skin isn't even all that big of a deal, really. It'll effect how it looks of course, and how it will smell and such after a long day of work and sweating_  
 _(the term "Dick cheese" has been tossed about jokingly between the guys a number of times back when we were in marching band), but a dick is a dick, and it's purpose will always be to cause awkward situations with its random boners and of course sex. Weather Kuon was cut will effect his reactions a bit, but only so much. I know that uncut ones are more sensitive but really, it doesn't really need to be more sensitive, and I don't really think I will miss any extra sensitivity if it comes with a lot of the other things my boys and I have discussed on it. Just a decision I've come to myself. Everyone is free to their own experiences and preferences._

 _I will be working on a lot of wedding stuff these upcoming weeks, but I'll try to get in a chapter before next Friday._


	4. Chapter 4

_This is just a bunch of smut. There was no way around it, but I'm sure you won't mind :p_

 _Funny enough, I was nearly done with this chapter when I realized I may have left some of you readers blue-balled and white-pantied. I may or may not have gotten a small amount of sadistic pleasure from that thought.  
I promise, though, I did post this as soon as I deemed it complete. There was so much ground to cover for just one night, and I didn't think any of you would forgive me if I tried to skip over a single moment of it._

 _With that in mind, this is roughly 7,000 words of just smut. That means there isn't any actual "girl talk" in this chapter,  
unless you count Ren explaining more embarrassing things. *stupid american shrug*_

 _I would tell you not to jizz your pants too hard, but let's be honest, I would be incredibly flattered if you did._

 _Obviously, I still don't own anyone_

 _Enjoy! ;)_

* * *

Ren watched his petite girlfriend as she fiddled with him through his boxer-briefs, his heart hammering away with the anticipation of it all. She couldn't really be thinking of helping him... could she? Sure, he had just given her her own release -something he was still trying to wrap his head around- but that didn't always mean that the other person was willing to repay the favor. He swallowed thickly, his gut tumbling with a mixture of excitement and nervousness as her eyes lifted to connect with his. She paused, her expression turning thoughtful as she squeezed and rolled him through his underwear.

"Corn...," she spoke up, Ren's heart rate increasing just from her gaze and his nickname being called softly, "your eyes..., when will I get to see them again?" Ah, he had been wondering when she would bring this up again. She had toed the subject lightly the night he had told her about being her Corn, accepting his explanation of wearing contacts and having his hair dyed, but she hadn't asked to actually see them. He was honestly thankful that she had accepted his confession as trustingly as she had. "To be honest..., It's sometimes a little strange to call Tsuruga-san 'Corn'. Not because I doubt your words!" she hastily adds. Maybe she had her doubts after all... but she was wanting to trust him so much that she was afraid to bring it up. Her eyes fell from his gaze, the girl gently tracing the shape of his manhood and making it quite difficult for Ren to figure out his current feelings. If it hadn't been for her nervous fidgeting to cause her to play with him idly like this, he would have surely lost some of the firmness currently throbbing in his erection due to his nerves over the topic. Instead, she had successfully confused his boner. Currently, he was shifting through his thoughts of his desire to assure her, distract her, or take her. His dick twitched in her hands and she jumped away, her eyes wide and flicking between his face and his crotch. Ren sat up slightly, feeling quite exposed and a little wounded at her sudden retreat. He struggled with his face for a moment, then decided to focus on his concern for her.

"Would you like me to remove my contacts for you, Kyoko?" he asked as he sat up more proper on the couch, his pants still wide open from what _she_ had done to him. Boy was _that_ a mind-boggling realization. She opened and closed her mouth a few times, still looking between him and his open zipper before finally settling on his face and looking a bit timidly as she nodded slowly.

"I... I would like that." she says, a small smile tugging at her lips as her cheeks warmed. She couldn't tell him that she had chosen a particular color for her toy just so she could fantasize about him specifically while pleasuring herself, making the thought of seeing them so incredibly exciting to her. Green was slowly starting to become a sexual color, reminding her of his eyes and making her wish she could see him, kiss him, _feel_ him. No, she definitely couldn't admit that out loud to anyone.

Kyoko watched as the man quietly stood, buttoning and zipping his pants over his impressive bulge (she was _pretty_ sure it was impressive) but leaving the belt undone as he walked off into his bathroom. Quietly, he held back a groan as he felt the pain start in his groin. _'Blue balls. Wonderful. What man doesn't love blue balls?'_ he thought sarcastically. He couldn't blame it on Kyoko, of course. For one, she didn't know any better... or at least he didn't _think_ she did. He wasn't sure what all she had been discussing with Kotonami-san, or reading in her books that he was still suspicious of. More importantly, he couldn't blame her for being honest with her feelings. He doubted the possibility of him being caused discomfort by this had even crossed her mind, even if she _did_ happen to know anything about it. He sighed heavily and placed his hands on his bathroom sink, leaning against it as he hung his head and tried to steady himself for a second.

"Corn?" her soft voice calling him with concern had him looking over to the doorway, seeing her shyly peeking into the bathroom at him, worry slowly coloring her expression. His groin throbbed painfully as he saw she still only had her skirt on from their earlier activities, her shirt clutched shyly in front of her to hide those adorable rosy nipples for the time being. "Are... are you okay?" she asked nervously. Ren chuckled hollowly and hung his head again, shaking it lightly. Of course, she really couldn't know what he was going through at the moment.

"I'm fine, Kyoko. I just need a moment to... steady myself." he explains. He wasn't really sure if he should explain the state he was currently in.

"What's wrong?" she padded over to him quickly, shirt dropped in favor of the confusion and concern about her senpai and boyfriend. He had been fine a minute ago. He was an actor, though, and she had seen him act through the worst of a cold, so she probably shouldn't be surprised at the possibility of him acting fine through something else.

"Nothing is wrong." He stated simply. She didn't believe him for a second. He looked like he was in pain, even though he had hid it pretty quickly. She hovered next to him worriedly, watching as he looked in the mirror and started working on taking out his contacts. This was what she had followed him for, to see the unveiling of his magical green gaze, but now she was concerned about the pain she had seen on his face. Still... she couldn't help the thrill she felt as he removed the contacts and blinked several times to clear his slightly irritated eyes, placing the little brown-colored disks in their places within a contact case. He looked over to her in the mirror with a nervous smile, the green bright and shining as they contrasted well when framed by Ren's dark brown hair. Kyoko swallowed thickly and raked her eyes over him. His disheveled and shirtless appearance was truly invigorating, especially coupled with his natural eye color. Giggling, Kyoko stepped up behind him and wrapped her arms around his trim waist, and Ren watched her curiously through the reflection as she peeked out from behind him, gazing up into his eyes through the mirror. She frowned as she saw the flash of pain in his eyes, quickly covered up with a smile. She squinted suspiciously at him.

"I saw that. Don't try to hide things from me, Corn." she warns as she tightened her arms around him. Fear showed through as he gazed back at her in the mirror. "What's wrong? Let me help." she insisted, watching as the fear ebbed away and slowly shifted to realization and then embarrassment, his green eyes falling away and to the side shamefully.

"It's just blue balls, Kyoko." he states. Kyoko frowned, pursing her lips slightly. She could tell he was hiding something more than that. He had looked so scared of her telling him not to hide things from her, as if he was afraid she had found out something he was afraid of her knowing. There was definitely something he wasn't telling her, but how much could she pry? "It'll go away in a few minutes. It's just a bit painful for a little while." he explained further, trying to brush the issue aside. Kyoko let out a hum, deciding to start with whatever this current issue was.

"If you're in pain, then we should fix it." she states. Corn's wide green eyes flicked to stare at her reflection with shock, a slight blush forming on his cheeks before he noticeably clenched his jaw and swallowed, his Adam's apple bobbing.

"Kyoko... blue balls are a pain men experience when they fail to ejaculate after prolonged arousal. You can either get rid of the arousal with something like a cold shower, or... you can finish it. I don't want to make you feel like you need to do that. If I have your hands on me, I don't want it to be something you feel you need to do out of obligation." he admits. He was pretty sure it was already ebbing away slowly anyway. He just needed a few more minutes. However, all thoughts of his issues fading away flew out the window when Kyoko flicked his button open and dove her hand down into his pants. Ren grunted and doubled over slightly, gripping the bathroom sink as he felt her hand wrap around him. _'What?'_ his mind helpfully supplied. Wide green eyes glanced up into the mirror, finding Kyoko thoughtfully staring back as she peeked from behind him, making his face warm significantly. He had plenty of dreams where he pleasured her in front of a mirror, showing her all her lewd expressions she would make as he touched and took her. This... he had never even imagined something like _her_ doing it to _him_ , let alone in real life.

"I don't feel obligated to do anything, Corn" Kyoko states firmly, running her hand along the warm shaft. She hadn't actually planned on putting her hands in his underwear as well just yet, but she wasn't about to pull away and cause him more pain. Besides, she was planning on getting to this point next anyway. She watched her disguised fairy prince (because Corn was her fairy prince no matter what), feeling a strange sense of power wash over her as she saw his every reaction perfectly reflected back to her.

"K-Kyoko, what-?" he gasped and shivered as she slid her hand up to the tip, finding the flaring of the 'head' and feeling along it curiously. His beautiful green eyes slid shut with a groan and Kyoko gave a slightly more forceful tug, feeling a thrill at the responding gasp from the man.

"Don't close your eyes, Corn. Look at me." she demanded heatedly. Ren opened heavy eyes, his body starting to shake a bit as he looked back at her and his piece twitching firmly in her hand. Kyoko tightened her grip on him to keep from startling away again. She won't let go. She won't let him be hurt by the 'blue balls' again out of her cowardice. _'It's normal. You read about those things twitching and stuff, Kyoko. Don't be so surprised!'_ she scolds herself as she squeezed the swollen head, quietly getting a mental picture of the thing she was currently manhandling. Ren's quivering and panting form in her arms and in the mirror were causing her to feel heat pooling in her own gut, surprising her a bit. She had just experienced such intense pleasure and release only a few minutes ago, and yet she was growing excited again? She licked her lips and stroked to the base of him roughly, silently confirming her thoughts that there was quite a bit there for her to uncover. Ren grunted and his hand quickly pressed over his pants, halting her motions as his face twisted into a slight grimace.

"W-Wait... Chafing..." he grunted out. Kyoko looked at his reflection with puzzlement before she felt him tugging at her wrist. She gripped him harder, not wanting to let go and cause his painful blue balls to return. He groaned and shivered. "Kyoko please," he groaned out, his voice sounding so... sexy as he begged her, "just... l-let me make it so it doesn't chafe."

"You're blue balls-!"

" ** _Please_ _._** " He sounded so desperate that she had to comply, hesitantly letting go and allowing him to pull her hand up to his mouth. Her eyes widened as he ran his wet tongue over her palm, coating it thoroughly his saliva before he pushed it back into his pants, the man panting with heavy need. Kyoko was still with shock for only a moment before her mind rebooted and she gripped Ren's throbbing cock, the slick saliva making it so much easier for her to slide her hand up and down the shaft. _'Oh... Oh! That's why!'_ she thought curiously, twisting her hand on him as she stroked. Ren groaned and shivered, his eyes shutting again as she pleasured him.

"Look at me, Corn." she demanded again, watching with pleasure as he barely managed to crack open his green eyes again, headily gazing at her through the reflection with those lidded eyes as he panted and groaned. She watched in satisfaction as his eyes fluttered, trying to close again only for the man to force them open again, staring at her as she stroked. She reached her other hand down the other side of him and undid his already slipping zipper down the rest of the way, giving her plenty of room to dive her other hand in and feel around. It was a bit of a stretch, but she managed to feel down past the short little mass of hair on his privates and find the soft little sack, gently taking them into her hand and feeling their shape. Ren let out a low moan as his body shivered, hands tightening on the edge of the sink as the member twitched several times in her hand, and then his eyes rolled shut. Before she could demand his gaze again, a hot wet liquid shot out, coating her hand on the piece then drizzling down onto her other hand on his balls. It was so slippery! She stroked again and Ren gasped, one hand coming to press over hers on him again to tell her to stop. Kyoko peered up at his reflection curiously, watching his green eyes flutter and roll open partially as he panted and tried to regain his bearings. "Corn?" she called gently, a small bit of concern for him. Was this okay? That face looked quite erotic, and she could tell from the hot liquid all over her hands that she had brought him the orgasm she had been trying to achieve, but he wasn't moving for a bit, panting and holding her hands to keep her from moving them again.

"It... It's really sensitive right after." Ren groaned out, slowly pulling his hand away to grip the sink with the other again. He was still panting quite a bit. "If you try to stroke it more right after I come, it's a bit overstimulating and almost painful." he explains. Kyoko quickly released him and pulled her hands out of his pants, the man letting out a breathy chuckle. "You don't have to get so scared over it. It's not painful in a way for you to worry, just... like biting off more of your favorite treat than you can chew, I suppose." he says before turning and slowly sliding to the floor with a sigh, he eyes closing as he leaned his head back to rest against the sink cabinets. Kyoko looked down at her beautiful shirtless boyfriend curiously, hands held in front of her as they dripped with his cum. She looked over her palms thoughtfully, remembering that there had been parts in the weird vampire erotica where the girl had been oddly interested in 'drinking' this stuff. Slowly, she brought one hand to her lips and licked some off her finger, frowning lightly at the odd flavor. It didn't really... taste _bad_ , but she wasn't really sure if she could say she would actually want to taste it... though there was an odd thrill in knowing it came from _him_ and had been caused by _her_. The best comparison she could come up with was... starchy? Maybe something close to a warm water used to clean rice, though with just a hint of salty-sweetness. Her eyes flicked down to the man sitting on the floor, only to find him staring up at her with wide-eyed shock. He swallowed thickly, looking nervous.

"Is it... okay?" he asked awkwardly. Kyoko stared back at him with slight confusion.

"Okay?" she echoed, tilting her head. Ren fidgeted and looked away, his face just a little red in his embarrassment.

"The um... my cum." he clarified. Kyoko looked down at her sticky hands with curiosity. Was it okay? She was pretty sure it was? It was a milky white color... which was how the books had described it a lot of the time. "It's not exactly... a commonly enjoyed delicacy or something..., as far as I know anyway. Usually the talk around it is over weather or not a woman will... you know, swallow it." he fidgeted more on the ground awkwardly before his lady-love. He couldn't recall ever having a woman tell him he tasted _bad_ , but it wasn't like girls usually commented on the taste to the person directly involved, and he was pretty sure he didn't get a lot of happy responses. There was more than enough talk growing up about how your diet effected these things. Was that why so many girls had started harping on him about his smoking habit? Did that even effect it? He hadn't smoked since Cain finished his work though. Kyoko hummed lightly, then held her hand out to him, holding her palm up in front of his face. Ren looked at her with shock and confusion.

"What does Corn think?" She proposed. His expression became a bit affronted.

"You want me to taste it?" he asked. Kyoko tilted her head curiously.

"I did. Is it something I shouldn't?" She replied. Ren looked back to her hand, contemplative. She had a point, he supposed. He wouldn't be one to admit it, but he had tried it, though that had back when he first started to explore his body as he went through puberty. It was embarrassing to even think of tasting himself in front of someone, but he didn't want to make Kyoko think it was something bad to taste, and he was considerably nervous about what he would find. Ren stole his nerves and leaned forward, taking a tentative lick from her dainty fingers. He frowned lightly at the taste. It wasn't horrible, thankfully, but he certainly didn't find it exceptionally good.

"I like yours better." he spoke without stopping to even consider it, expertly hiding his nervousness behind a passive expression as he looked up at her, gauging her reaction. She looked away shyly, a cute blush on her cheeks, considered his words for a moment, then began to reach for her skirt. Ren's hand shot up and grabbed her wrist.

"You should wash your hands before you try doing something like that, Kyoko." he warned. She looked to him with confusion. Wash her hands? "I don't think you want to get pregnant just yet." he gave a somewhat awkward smile and Kyoko looked down at her hands again thoughtfully, closing her fingers then spreading them and watching how the substance made stretchy strings between the digits. She knew basically how it worked, how women had an egg and men had sperm, but she was under the impression that it had to be shot up inside or something for that kind of thing. Cum was certainly something to be careful with when handling.

Ren stood and helped her wash her hands, using somewhat hot water to make sure everything was adequately killed off before he sighed and pulled her into his arms, smiling at the cute little squeak she let out. The girl blushed as she found her face pressed against Ren's bare chest, his heart hammering away close to her ear.

"C-Corn?"

"Sorry, just... I feel so elated, having you here with me, getting to be so intimate. I never thought..." he trailed off for a moment, then held her a little tighter and burred his face into her hair, "I never thought I could ever be allowed such happiness, let alone with someone as amazing as you." Kyoko frowned lightly as she hugged him back, silently wondering if this had something to do with that fear he had been hiding earlier. The conversation she had with him as Bo came to mind, and she nuzzled her face into his chest firmly, holding him tight as if imagining she might be able to hold him up from whatever was pulling him down.

"Well..., I never thought I could find someone that cares about me as much as you, Corn." she retaliates. Ren was silent for a pause before he picked her up and set her on the counter next to his sink, ignoring the adorable squeak of surprise that came from the girl.

"How about this, then? I'll allow myself happiness, if you allow me to look after you, let me spoil you and love you and give you all the things you deserve." he barters. Kyoko hummed lightly at that, looking over his expression thoughtfully. It felt like she was getting all the benefits from this.

"Only if you let me spoil you where I can, too." she finally declares, determined to make sure she could repay him for all his love and kindness. Ren looked unsure for a moment, then his face broke into a wide smile as he nodded and leaned in, kissing her gently.

"Can I offer up my first service of love and spoiling to help you shower off?" he asked, a grin slowly pulling at his lips as he gave a nod over to his shower. Kyoko stared up at him with wide eyes and red cheeks.

"I... you... sh-shower..." she babbled out with belief. "Tsuruga-san, that's indecent!" she wailed, reverting back to her formalities as she became overly embarrassed. Ren frowned lightly, a stinging in his chest from the obvious emotional distance she had suddenly thrust between them. Hadn't things been going well? They had just been very personal with one another, doing much more than he ever dreamed, and yet a _shower_ together is indecent? Kyoko could see the hurt growing on her boyfriend's face as he didn't give her a response. _'NO! No, no no no, don't look like that!'_ she thought woefully. When he looked down and away, she felt her heart squeeze and drop.

"Sorry, I guess... that is a bit more emotionally personal. I should have realized that... Sorry." he said slowly, his voice soft. Kyoko couldn't stand it, pulling him back to her and hugging him tight as she stayed seated on the counter top.

"That's not it, T... C-Corn! I just... I'm just embarrassed." she whimpered out.

"I've already seen all of you, though." he points out softly, one hand coming up to lightly brush some of her hairs behind one ear, the other arm wrapping around her shoulders in a light hug. Kyoko hid her face in his chest.

"Be that as it may..., it's somehow more embarrassing to consider showering together with... with Corn." she says. It was surprising how tempting it was to revert back to calling him 'Tsuruga-san' when she felt overly embarrassed over his behavior and suggestions. She looked up at him again, worried and uncertain, the same emotions reflected back at her in his own face.

"As I said..., it's more emotionally personal. There are lots of people in the world that are willing to share their bodies, but not their hearts, especially where I come from. Things like sharing a bed, sharing a bath, holding and kissing..., those are more emotional than the heat of sex and touching, at least in my experience. All I know is that I want to share everything with Kyoko, one little piece at a time." Kyoko contemplated his words for a moment before nodding her understanding.

"Alright, then... I'll try not to feel too embarrassed over it." She says timidly, looking to the modern shower with uncertainty. Ren chuckled lightly, a small smile pulling at his lips.

"You can feel embarrassed, Kyoko. It _is_ embarrassing, after all. I don't want to push you anything. I just...," he sighed lightly and ran a hand through her hair, "I guess I just felt a bit hurt because you put me at a distance suddenly. I won't ask you to do something you're uncomfortable with. Embarrassment is fine and fun and you get cute when you're flustered and embarrassed. Being uncomfortable though..., I don't want you to be uncomfortable around me, in our relationship." Kyoko listened intently, watching as Ren opened up to her a little more. There was something about his vulnerable expressions that just made her heart clench and soar. She smiled and placed a gentle hand on his chest, drawing his gaze back to her own as she smiled through her blush.

"I... I would like to try taking a shower with Corn." she says softly. His green eyes flickered over her face searchingly for a moment before a soft smile pulled at his own lips and he nodded. Pulling back from the counter to allow her to jump down, he quietly noted that he had been between her legs, just a little upset that he hadn't realized it in time to enjoy it. Hopefully there would be other chances to feel her thighs on either side of him.

Kyoko watched as he prepared the shower, chewing her lower lip to hold back a giggle as she watched him struggle with his sagging pants, still undone from her actions against him. When he finally deemed the shower ready, he made sure to pull out a set of towels for her and close the bathroom door before dropping his pants completely, followed by his boxer-briefs and then the unclasping of his watch. Kyoko stared. She wasn't sure what she was expecting, but she was admittedly stunned at seeing the slightly wrinkly mushroom-esque shape dangling in front of his testicles, sandy blond hair showing his natural hair color surrounding it all. Was it really that small? The erotica had mentioned that they tend to grow, but it can't be by _that_ much. She looked down at her hand, recalling how she had been able to stroke that part of him, but now it looked as if she could easily clasp all of it in her palm. Did it really grow that much? Ren let her stare for a moment before he cleared his throat awkwardly, causing her eyes to flick up and meet his. She was still getting used to seeing green eyes on her senpai, though that little hand-job in the mirror was certainly helping her get a grasp on it.

"Corn isn't circumcised?" she asked. Ren looked at her with confusion before looking down at himself, as if checking to make sure, then looked at her again.

"I am." he said, looking at her oddly. Kyoko's eyes flicked down at the piece again.

"But there's extra skin." she observes, reminding herself not to point even though she wanted to show him exactly what she was talking about. Ren was a bit stumped on what to say. Apparently this had been something she had been learning about as of late.

"If I wasn't, there would be extra skin covering the head of it." he says, pointing to where it flared and made that mushroom top shape. Kyoko only seemed to get a confused look on her face, causing Ren to chuckle a bit and get her eyes to connect with his own again. "The skin you're seeing around the shaft is for when it grows. It would probably be quite painful if the skin had to stretch _that_ much to accommodate it." he explained before slipping into the shower, looking over to her as he did so. "are you joining?" he teased with a smirk, using that same line she recalled from their time on the 'dangerous mission'. Kyoko squinted at him as she reached down and undid her skirt. _'Dangerous mission indeed. I **knew** it.'_ she thought with a light huff. It was apparent that the shower incident back then had been yet another tell of his desires for her slipping through. How had she managed to miss all these things? Oh right, because she had been in denial and believed he would do these things with anyone. Knowing how personal he took these things now only made her feel embarrassed about her assumptions on his behavior. She felt like she had been so blind, but in the complete opposite way to how she had been with Sho. Now stripped bare with her skirt pooling around her ankles, she stepped over and slipped into the shower, the man looking over to her as she joined him. Something mischievous flashed in his eyes and he shifted to the side slightly. Kyoko gasped as she got a face full of water all at once.

"Corn!" she cried out. He laughed openly and sheilded her from the spray with his larger body again.

"Sorry, you just looked so serious. Just enjoy this with me." he says, a goofy grin on his face. Kyoko pouted up at him cutely.

"We're supposed to be getting clean." she reminds him. Ren did a ' _stupid'_ , tiny, little shrug, making her squint accusingly at him. His grin never wavered as he bent his head backwards to get his hair wet, the chest before her rumbling lightly with a chuckle. Kyoko couldn't help but stare. In that moment, she wished she could paint or sculpt, just to etch that image and pose into existence forever. She didn't think she could quite capture that with one of her dolls... though she might be able to use her talents in doll-making to try and make a small rendition of it. She didn't think she could carry something like _that_ around with her though. Either way, she was suddenly _very_ glad she had agreed to join him.

Helping him wash his body was interesting. She marveled at how much surface there was to cover, and she enjoyed feeling all over him under the guise of washing immensely. She tried teasing him by going a bit slower as she deliberately stroked him, realizing as she did so that it was slowly starting to fill her hand more and more with every pass. Seeing the man shudder and react to her had her marveling over it all, noting how the loose skin started to accommodate the extra length and girth it was gaining. It was all so new and interesting to her.

"It really does grow." she says, staring down and squeezing it gently in her hand. Ren watched her explore him, the shower temporarily forgotten aside from the droplets of water pouring over and around her as she ran her soapy hands over him.

"It's only semi-erect right now, you know." he tells her. Kyoko's wide eyes flicked up to meet his heavy green ones, her mouth open partially as she tried to find an apropriate response. When she couldn't think of one, she looked back down at what she was doing to him, her eyes taking in the piece as she started stroking, watching how it slowly hardened in her grip. It already seemed a fairly reasonable size, but she could indeed feel that it was a little softer than when she had been feeling it in his pants earlier. She swallowed thickly.

"Does it hurt?" she asked nervously. Ren frowned lightly in uncertainty.

"Well... If you're asking about it hurting while growing like this, no. It's actually _very_ pleasant, especially when it's you that stimulates it." he states, his voice a bit low as she hears his breathing become a little more shallow. Her eyes traveled up his body before connecting with his own again, cheeks warming with embarrassment and excitement as she smiled shyly, twisting her hand on him. The soap made it even easier to stroke him than his saliva did earlier. Ren's breath hitched and his eyes fluttered as he lifted a hand to steady himself against the wall. "If... If you're asking about sex," he continued breathlessly, letting out a soft grunt at a particularly pleasant stroke of her hand, "I, ah... there's... you hear a lot of different experiences. Every girl is different, but it's an over all pleasurable experience for both parties as far as I- nhhg- as far as I know. It's very difficult to think when you're doing this, Kyoko." He grunts, eyes closing as he feels her squeeze him at the base and pull, the soap making her hand slide all the way to the tip before she pushed it back to the base. Ren gasped and swayed, the sight of him amazingly intriguing to the girl.

"Because you're thinking with the wrong head, right?" She teased with a grin, sliding her hand to the tip and pressing on it with her thumb. Ren moaned deeply and felt his knees wobble.

"Y-yes... No... The right head. It's right to think with my desires in this s-situation." he panted, pulling backward to lean against the back wall of the shower. Undeterred, Kyoko followed after him, refusing to release her hold on him as she stroked and twisted and squeezed. Ren cracked his eyes open, his hazy mind taking in her curious and teasing expression before an idea struck. Kyoko gasped as she was suddenly pulled against him, her hand releasing him in favor of trying to steady herself, one hand on either side of him against the wall as she felt his hard member pressed firmly between their stomachs. Ren let out another low moan and his hands traveled down her back. "lift your leg, and hold onto my neck." he instructed with a moan, trailing his right hand down to her hip while his left hand danced up her back, leaving a tingling sensation. Slowly, she lifted her left leg up as she looped her arms around his neck, the girl gasping slightly as he shifted them downward to sit on the floor of the shower, right hand holding her leg up to his hip as the other pulled her in for a deep and passionate kiss. Kyoko moaned as she found herself sitting on his lap, the hard shaft sliding against her pussy lips as he devoured her mouth hungrily. She pulled back to gasp for air, and he dove for her neck, licking and nipping gently, peppering tiny kisses as he firmly reminded himself not to leave any actual marks on her. Not yet, not somewhere that people could see and question her integrity. He would protect her image. It was getting increasingly difficult with all the little mewls she was making between breathy moans of his fairy name. "Kyoko, grind." he grunted, pressing her tail bone to push her pelvis against him instructively. She caught on easily, grinding against him and letting the lips of her slick pussy slide against his dick. He just had to make sure it didn't slip in. He didn't want his first entrance into the beautiful woman in his arms to be an accident. It needed to be deliberate and consensual, something they were both absolutely sure she wanted.

"Ren!" she moaned out loudly, throwing back her head as she gripped his shoulders and thrust, loving the way he felt as she pressed her body against his and slid her privates firmly against his shaft. Ren let out a low moan, gripping her hips as he started to assist her grinding. She had never called his name in such a way before. He wasn't even sure why it excited him so much, but he loved it.

"Say it again, Kyoko. Call my name." he hummed deeply as he pressed his hips upward.

"R-Ren." she gasped, her nails biting into his skin as her body shivered and he felt her grow even more slick against him as her private muscles twitched. He pulled her head in and kissed her sloppily, moaning as their tongues twirled around each other's. Every nerve in his body seemed to be centered on how she was touching him, growing hot in the spray of the shower as he gripped her hips and held her to him as his penis twitched between them, warm cum coating their stomachs as he moaned into her mouth. Kyoko pulled away slowly, looking down with surprise as she saw the slick substance he had given for her efforts. She blinked with surprise and put her hand on her stomach, pulling it away and watching how the stings stretched.

"It... it was more milky white before, but this is more clear." she observes curiously, looking up to him with confusion. Ren panted as he watched her, nodding as her caught his breath.

"The longer time between orgasms, the less translucent it gets... due to the lower sperm count or something." he says before leaning his head back against the wall as he continued to pant, slowly calming down. Kyoko smiled and held her hand out to the spray of the shower, letting it all wash away before starting to soap up both of their bodies to clean off his latest release. Ren let out a soft hum and cracked his eyes open to look down to her. You're much less reserved about all of this than I thought you would be." he observes thoughtfully. Kyoko gave a shy smile as her cheeks darkened slightly.

"Well..., I want to experience all kinds of things with Corn." she explains, her voice soft. Ren smiled and cradled her face, guiding her to kiss him again. He was probably already addicted to her kisses, but he didn't care. He just wanted her.

"I will gladly experience every piece of life you wish to have with me." he says, watching in satisfaction as her cute little smile widened just a little and her eyes fluttered to look up at him.

When Ren insisted on washing her, it was an experience entirely different than she had ever been through before. She was pretty sure he was slowing down and lingering a bit as he brushed his hands over her nipples, rolling her breasts lightly, feeling over her hips, trailing slowly down her spine, fondling her butt, sliding over her thighs. He was touching her so much, and her body buzzed with pleasure through every little caress. She was almost disappointed when it ended. Ren was _positive_ that he was sad for it to end, but it was getting late and they needed to get ready for bed if they were going to be energized for the next day.

.

.

The man sighed as he sat on the edge of the bed, placing his phone on the charger and his watch next to it, feeling a bit conflicted as he stared at the unmoving face of it. Kyoko had gone to the guest room after the shower to get her pajamas and dress for the night. He had missed her presence instantly.

Soft dainty hands shocked him as they settled on his shoulders, then slid slowly to his front as Kyoko's small frame pressed against his back. He turned his head to peek at her over his shoulder and she placed a small peck on his cheek.

"Should I ask where the watch is from?" she asked softly. She knew it meant something important to him, but she was still confused about what it could be. Ren's expression only confirmed her suspicions further. It was certainly something that had to do with a painful part of his past.

"Can I wait to get in to that? It's... a bit of a heavy subject." he says nervously. Kyoko frowned worriedly as she nodded, staring into his green eyes for a bit longer before leaning over his shoulder and kissing him softly on the corner of his mouth. The man readily accepted her kisses, his body noticeably relaxing under her. "Can I ask what wonderful magic has brought you into my bed?" he asked teasingly, knowing she would enjoy the way he proposed that particular question. She would still love magic, even with him breaking the spell surrounding the truth of Corn's own mortality. Kyoko blushed prettily as she fiddled with his night shirt over his chest.

"Well..., you had said that sharing things was a good way to show your emotional attachment to someone, and sharing a bed had been one of the things you listed..., and I also couldn't help but remember how you clung to me one night. I guess I thought... perhaps Corn was lonely, o-or that you might suffer from nightmares sometimes, and... I'm a bit more comfortable with it now that I know my feelings are reciprocated... and some other things" she says timidly, fidgeting about cutely as her eyes shifted away with a deep blush. Ren slowly allowed a grin to pull at his lips.

"I see. I would gladly accept your company in my bed, Kyoko." he admits, those emperor eyes only more striking when colored green. Kyoko felt her whole body heat up as she timidly pulled herself off of his back and slipped into the covers. Ren chuckled and got in next to her, opening his arms in welcome and taking comfort in the way she shuffled into them. His chest thrummed with excitement and relief as he wrapped his arms around the smaller frame of the woman her loved, tucked into his bed with him and comfortable in his embrace. He could still hardly believe it, and yet he could feel his hear soaring. "Goodnight, sweet Kyoko. I love you." he hummed, already drifting off. She cuddled more against him, her face unable to contain her joy in that moment.

"Goodnight, Corn... Ren... I love you too." she mumbled. Ren's arms silently squeezed her just a little tighter before they drifted off completely.

.

.

.

* * *

 _HaHA! All the smut!_

 _This is already one of my longer chapters, and I'm sure I've kept all you perverts waiting long enough, so I'll leave all the real girl talk for the next chapter. Kanae has so much new ground to cover with Kyoko. Hahahahaha!_

 _Dreamerkins, thank you for leaving a comment. :) Know that you can say just about anything to me and I will accept it fully. This is a mature story, after all. Things tend to get VERY personal in it, haha._

 _Concerning Ren's junk, I am proud to tell you all that I made sure to research properly. Ashenvale, thank you for the point made about the percentage of men circumcised in the US, and I feel inclined to agree with you, especially taking into account the time when Skip Beat! first started. The numbers had been even higher back then._

 _For Ren's size... taking into account his body type, muscle mass, and heritage, I came to the conclusion that he's likely pretty decently sized. I'm going to guess he's on the larger size and guestimate around 8-9 inches. It's impressive, but not so crazy and intimidating that people would look at it and go "OH NOOOO! It's a MONSTER!" like in those crazy hentai and such that have ginormous dicks. I've known a guy in band with a foot-long dick before. He would joke about how he's half a virgin. I felt kinda bad for him, really, and I didn't think there was any need to get that crazy for this fanfic._

 _As always, feel free to leave comments and impressions. Know that I enjoy reading your comments immensely. Sometimes I'll refresh my email just to see what people may have said. It brightens my day every time._

 _See you in the next chapter!_


	5. Chapter 5

_As I said, this chapter is a bit more serious and talky to balance out all the smut in the last 't worry though, there will be plenty more smut in the future. ;)_

* * *

Kyoko was going through quite the new experience as she stirred this morning, waking up in a man's bed, in a man's _arms_ , her back pressed against a large firm chest, something hard and hot pressing against her backside, a sturdy arm draped around her waist, and a large hand cradling her breast softly. She tensed up as she slowly came to the realization of where she was, who she was with. The memory of how she had ended up there flooded back to her and she trembled as the heat of embarrassment overtook her face. The arm around her pulled her more firmly to his chest, his hand squeezing her breast as a consequence as she felt a soft kiss placed on the back of her head.

"Kyoko, you're alright. I'm here. I won't do anything you dislike." Ren's deep voice washed over her as he spoke softly in the morning light, just barely starting to peek in through the windows. Kyoko shifted so she could turn her head and peek back at him. As if sensing what she wanted, he propped himself up, holding his head up with one arm as he lounged and looked down at her with a soft smile. "Good morning." he chuckled. Kyoko gaze up at his slightly messy hair and shining green eyes, her voice getting caught in her throat and warmth pooling in her gut at the sight. He looked so vibrant, shining and bright as her fairy prince, even now with his dark brown hair.

"Good... good morning." Kyoko managed to get out softly, feeling a bit shy. "Um... your hand is... holding me." she pointed out, her own coming up to brush her fingertips lightly over the knuckles of his larger hand. Ren smirked and gently rolled her breast, slid his fingertips lightly over her nipple through her night shirt, then slowly glided his hand down her side and over her hip, letting it rest there. Watching Kyoko's breath hitch and her eyes flutter was instantly his favorite thing to see upon waking. Chuckling, he leaned down and gave a soft but slow kiss. She hummed appreciatively and held back a whimper as he pulled away, eyes fluttering open again to gaze up at him shyly. "What time is it?" she asked, watching as he twisted away to get a look at his clock.

"Almost seven." It was so early?

"What time did we go to bed last night?" Kyoko groaned out, placing a hand on her head as she tried to remember. Did they go to bed that early? Ren chuckled lightly.

"We went to bed pretty quickly after dinner and a shower last night. Even with all the... extra activities, I would say it wasn't much later than eleven pm." he says, a teasing lilt in his voice. Kyoko pouted up at him cutely before deciding to twist and bury her face in his chest.

"I felt so tired, though. I was so sure it had been past midnight at least when we went to sleep." She mumbles, loving the warm little niche she had found in Ren's embrace. His chest vibrated with a chuckle as his hand cradled her head, petting her hair gently.

"Well, we did explore a lot of new things physically and emotionally, so I'm not really surprised. I slept really well, though." he admits, and Kyoko hummed in agreement. She really did feel very energized upon waking, despite the apparent early hour.

"I don't want to get up though." she mumbled, clinging to his shirt and pressing her body up against his. Curiously, she felt that warm bulge that had been pressing against her butt this morning, shifting her thigh up to press against in firmly. Ren let out a groan.

"I know I agreed to let you spoil me, Kyoko, but I'm already feeling like you're over-indulging me." he admits. Kyoko hummed thoughtfully in response.

"But I'm doing this for myself, getting to touch you and see all your reactions."

"Even so, I like these things." he hummed, leaning down and starting to pepper her skin with his kisses, then stopped to chuckle lightly. Kyoko looked at him curiously and he shook his head with a grin. "No, I just remembered how I had referred to you as a little spring right before we started dating. I had told you I was afraid you might dry up and leave me to die if I try to drink, but instead it seems you just keep pouring out and I've started to drown instead." he says, grinning wider. Kyoko blushed at his analogy, slowly wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him back down to her again.

"Let me be your air instead, then." she murmurs before pulling him the rest of the way and kissing him deeply. Ren moaned into her kisses, deciding that the life of a fish wasn't so bad.

* * *

Kanae rose a thoughtful eyebrow at the happily humming girl as Kyoko pranced about and cleaned without a fuss.

"It's curious..." she started, silently cheering in her head as the number one love-me member took the bait, turning and pausing her merry humming to listen instead. "That is to say, I thought you would have graduated by now, considering the circumstances." Kyoko blushed and looked around quickly.

"Not so loud, Moko-san!" she hissed as she walked over quickly. "We haven't told anyone. You're the only one that knows!" Kanae stared at Kyoko with shock.

"The only one? After two whole months? What about you guys' manager? You told me you were spending the night last night. Didn't he say anything when he picked you both up together?" She asked with shock. Kyoko shook her head quickly, her short hair softly slapping her in the face back and forth. Kanae could hardly believe it, though she suddenly felt so much more important to the spunky girl now.

"It's not the first time I've spent the night, though it was the first since we started dating, so it wasn't difficult to act like everything was the same as usual. Tsuruga-san and I agreed that it didn't need to be known yet so long as we don't lie about our locations and don't change our interactions out in public. Once we start looking into going out for dates, we'll be sure to explain everything to Yashiro-san." she explained with a shy smile. "We just want to keep things more private for a while. He mentioned that Yashiro-san can get kind of... squealy, and he was afraid we would be teased and our progress critiqued due to how often Yashiro-san felt a need comment on our relationship in the past. It seems... he's been rooting for us for a long time, and pestered Tsuruga-san a lot on his slow advancement with me." Kyoko explained a bit timidly. Kanae rose her eyebrows at that. That manager was sounding like a gushing school girl. It was difficult to imagine a grown man doing... never mind. Their company president was probably even worse.

"I'm going to go ahead and guess you haven't told President Lory yet." she says with a knowing look. Kyoko blushed and shook her head.

"Told the president what?" Kyoko's eyes went wide in horror as the girls turned to see Yashiro walking over to them, Ren trailing behind him with a soft smile directed quietly at Kyoko. She quickly looked back to Yashiro so as to not give away the buzzing happiness she felt toward the senior actor.

"That is, about the romance novel we found!" Kyoko said quickly. Kanae kept her face passive as she noticed the way the manager's expression visibly wilted. Could that straight-laced looking guy really be a squealy fan-girl for love?

"You never did tell me what it was called." Yashiro mentions with interest. "If the president would find it appealing, surely it wouldn't be so bad to look into something you find interesting, right Ren?" Yashiro says, turning and coaxing the tall actor as Kyoko looked to Kanae worriedly. Ren gave a light smile, showing a level of nonchalance that had Kanae nearly believing he was impassive on his current surroundings.

"I think I prefer my scripts." The actor says without a care. Yashiro looked positively horrified, and Kanae finally started to see the dramatic flair that seemed to be hinted at hiding under the man's surface. The bespectacled man turned to Ren, trying to convey his disappointment in the man through hasty glances and dramatic faces. Kyoko used the momentary distraction to lean in to Kanae, something the older girl noticed was being drawn out slightly by Ren acting passive toward his manager.

 _"Moko, I don't know any romance novels that focus on friendship."_ Kyoko whimpered to her friend. Kanae glanced between Ren and Kyoko a few times, quietly deciding they were a dangerous pair. One little look of worry had Ren distracting his meddling manager while Kyoko sorted out her issue swiftly in the background.

"Well fine," Yashiro huffs in obvious annoyance and irritation with his charge, turning back to Kyoko, "Ren might be too absorbed in his work to care about anything, but I would very much like to know what you've been reading, Kyoko-chan. You seemed. **Quite. Interested. In it**." he says, enunciating the last words as he sent a glare over to Ren, a bit obvious in his intentions for Ren to give more of a response. The man simply smiled brightly. Kyoko held in a giggle as she nodded.

"Well, the one we found that seemed the most appealing was 'The Magic in Us'" she says, quickly telling the name her friend had supplied while looking over to Kanae. The older girl pursed her lips slightly before relenting.

"It's about healing, friendship, love, how we need loved ones to help us through things, all that junk the president is in to while also holding a lot of elements we can relate to better." she supplied blandly, though she could see Kyoko beaming happily at their ability to cover up the situation so smoothly. Great, now she was being pulled in to their schemes. Well..., she supposed it wasn't _that_ bad, though. Yashiro nodded happily and scribbled the name down into a notepad, stating that he would look it up later before encouraging Kyoko to go change so they could head out to the next job. The teen happily agreed before running off and Kanae eyed the two men thoughtfully before following after.

* * *

"Are you sure this is a good idea? Doesn't it seem a little risky to not inform your manager about your relationship?" Kanae asked once they were in the privacy of the locker room. "I can somewhat understand if it was something lighthearted, but you two have already gotten pretty intimate, right?" she says worriedly. She was happy for Kyoko, and it seemed to be going really well between her and Ren, but she also really wanted the younger girl to be careful. Kyoko fiddled with her fingers awkwardly as she shifted her gaze about and blushed.

"Yeah... it's... kind of intimate. We um..., we moved on to doing more personal things last night." she says shyly. At Kanae's wide-eyed and slack-jawed expression, she hastily elaborated. "We didn't...! That... I'm still a virgin and everything. We just..., he... his mouth... and I may have... t-touched..." Kanae frowned at the scrambled and choppy words.

"Get ready for your job."

"M-Moko?" Kyoko called worriedly. Was the older girl mad? Kanae sighed heavily.

"I feel like the information you try to relay to me right now will get too scrambled. We'll discuss it in more detail tonight at my place, okay? Unless... you're spending the night with him again?" she asked a bit worriedly. She was all for the advancement and ripening of Kyoko's relationship. It sounded like the two of them were treating it with the importance and responsibility it deserved to stay healthy, but spending a lot of personal time together could make them accelerate the relationship faster than needed. Space was also important in developing a healthy relationship and pace. Kanae relaxed as Kyoko shook her head quickly.

"Tsuruga-san said he would enjoy it, but he didn't want to rush into things by having me over all the time." she said with a small smile. Kanae let out a relieved breath as she nodded her approval.

"Okay good, tonight then. We'll talk and we can help put that hair conditioner in for each other again."

* * *

Kyoko silently threaded her fingers through Kanae's long silky hair, making sure to keep the product even and light all throughout as she applied it. The girls had quickly found that putting it in carelessly left the hair heavy and oily-looking, which was obviously no good.

"Tsuruga-san has a lot of hair treatment stuff at his place, too. I'll ask him what he recommends some time." Kyoko hums happily, wanting to fill the quiet room as Kanae had yet to speak since sitting down. Kanae huffed lightly in response. She supposed that his hair _is_ one of the features he was noticed for, though not as often as his height and face. She herself had looked at it with envy a couple times. It just seemed like it flowed better. Why did a man need thick flowing locks anyway?

"Honestly, you need to worry about your hair more than I do. Dying your hair effects it a lot, especially when you bleach it for lighter colors." Kanae supplies. Kyoko hummed thoughtfully at that. How often did Corn have to dye it? Yashiro-san had also mentioned that they left and arrived to and from out-of-country locations separately, so he probably had to dye it for that... which meant mot even Yashiro knew about Ren's true origins. It seemed the president knew about it, and most probably all the things he had yet to tell her, but was that truly it? There had to be others..., right? "Anyway, why don't we get to the topic we came here to discuss privately. From the sound of it, things got pretty far last night?" Kanae asked, though still not super thrilled about hearing all the intimate parts of the relationship. Kyoko nibbled her bottom lip for a moment before nodding.

"Yeah, it... it was really embarrassing going out into the main room in the morning and finding my clothes tossed everywhere." she says shyly. Kanae slowly twisted around to look at Kyoko with shock.

"What?" she asked plainly. Had she _really_ just heard Kyoko say that? The younger girl's eyes blew wide as she realized how her words could be taken.

"No! Nothing like... we didn't have _sex_! We just... Ts-Tsuruga-san touched... he..." she felt her body buzz and heat in embarrassment as she tried to explain what she had done with her boyfriend of only a few months. "We were making out... and he asked to touch me..., and I said yes, and then it just kind of... went on from there. You know, touching, kissing, a... a bit of undressing... f... _finger_..." Kyoko said the last word so softly that Kanae hardly managed to catch it.

"He fingered you?" she asked with shock. Kyoko was apparently much more willing than she initially thought. The younger girl's face darkened another shade of red. Just the word 'finger' sounded dirty now.

"Well, I... I think so. I mean... it was only one. He mostly used his mouth... and his tongue." she admitted as she quietly recalled the embarrassment.

"His _mouth_ and _tongue_? Kyoko, that's not fingering! That's called eating you out. You had oral sex." Kanae explained, staring at her friend with near disbelief. Kyoko's expression became a mixture of shock and fear.

"I... I had sex?" She asked, looking nearly heartbroken. Kanae rolled her eyes with a groan.

"No, It's not sex. Not really, not unless you consider anything to do with touching your genitals as sex, which it's not. Sex is sex. This is just... well, it's pretty much leading up to it, not to mention you can spread STDs and STIs from oral sex if one of you have them, but that's more to do with the kind of sensitive skin around those areas being susceptible to the same bacteria and such. You're still a pure little... well... you're a virgin anyway. A virgin with an increasingly dirty mind." she wanted to laugh, but then Kyoko looked so worried and upset. "Mo! There's nothing wrong with that!"

"There... there isn't?"

"Of course not! This kind of stuff is normal. It's a part of nature. Not everyone has the same level of curiosity, but there's nothing wrong with wanting to explore these kinds of things _especially_ when you have someone you love and want to explore it with! What's important is for you to not rush into things, for you to be responsible and careful, decide on how far you're willing to go at certain points in the timeline of your relationship. Talk to each other about anything that may effect the other person like illnesses and such.

"Some people wait for marriage to have sex, others wait for so many dates or a certain aniversary. Personally, I think you should start trying to think of a way to tell your manager about your relationship, but in a way that you can tell him that you still want your privacy. He's not a part of your relationship, but he _is_ responsible for what happens in response to it, should anything happen. Things are fine right now, but what if someone notices how you two look at each other? What about when one of you wants to take the other to an event? You might think you'd be fine not going with him, but you'll think the whole night that you wish you could have brought him with you, and I can almost _guarantee_ that Tsuruga-san will want to take you to any event he attends. He's too smitten with you to _not_! You can try claiming that you two are going as friends, but most people will still make speculations, and it will only work maybe one or two times. On top of that, what about if you two decide to have sex and somehow you get pregnant? What about when that man decides he wants to marry you. Don't give me that look, Kyoko. There's no way it hasn't crossed his mind with how he is with you." Kyoko looked down thoughtfully, taking it all in before nodding hesitantly.

"I'll talk to Tsuruga-san about Yashiro-san." she says softly. Kanae heaved a sigh and nodded her agreement.

"That's all I can ask of you. After all, it's not my relationship either. I just... I want this to go well for you. You deserve a happy and healthy relationship." she says, reaching over and gently holding Kyoko's knee. The other girl smiled and nodded a bit more enthusiastically this time and Kanae smiled in response. "So..., how was oral sex?" she teased, turning the topic to something more lighthearted. Kyoko blushed all over again.

"It was... It felt really good. I can't even recall what exactly he was doing other than that it just felt... so _good_! He did put one finger in, but it was only near the very end, and...," Kyoko blushed as she recalled how she had thought she had peed herself, "It was really embarrassing. I thought I had an accident but really is was just an orgasm. There was so much embarrassing stuff!" Kyoko put her bright red face in her hands, feeling oh so shy about it all. Kanae nodded as she followed along, embarrassed at the topic but amused and happy for her friend.

"He was probably trying to find the sensitive spots inside. We have all kinds of nerves and stuff in there. If he did that though..., did you return the favor or did he just keep pleasuring you?" She asked, leaning against her mattress as she watched Kyoko. It was slowly becoming more and more fun to talk about Kyoko's explorations with each talk. She just didn't care to hear about Ren's more... personal reactions to things.

Kyoko gave a timid grin as she fiddled with her fingers.

"Well..., I did return the favor... but with my hand?" she said, looking up thoughtfully as she recalled the mirror and his eyes and how erotic his face had been when she demanded he keep looking at her throughout the experience. She had taken so much control over him. And then the shower... that one was probably a bit too close to actual sex, but it _had_ been quite enjoyable, having his length rub against her slit over and over.

"That's called a hand job." Kanae said with raised eyebrows. "You gave him a hand job in response to him eating you out? Did his thing smell bad or something?" She asked, wrinkling her nose slightly at the thought of having something strange and potent in her face. Kanae herself didn't have any real experience in these kinds of things, but she at least knew the concept due to all her research and reading in the past. No, she would stick to her dedication for acting for now. She didn't really have any desire for this kind of relationship at the moment. Kyoko frowned lightly in thought at Kanae's words.

"He did say he sweat and hadn't gotten to shower yet, but I never actually smelled it now that I think about it. He had...," Kyoko paused and thought over her words for a second. She couldn't mention his contacts. "Tsuruga-san got up to wash himself, and I just kind of followed him. Apparently he got some 'blue balls' that are quite painful though." She says thoughtfully. Kanae looked at her like she had gone crazy.

"Bllue balls?" Kanae echoed. Kyoko nodded firmly in confirmation. "What's blue balls? I've never heard of that before." This made Kyoko's eyes blow wide. Something Moko hadn't heard of before? How could that be? Kanae knew everything!

"He said it's a pain guys experience when they are denied release after prolonged arousal or something." Kyoko explained. The older girl pulled out her phone, pulling up her search engine and typing in the phrase as Kyoko scoot over to sit next to her. Together, the two girls looked at the results. Kanae frowned as a bunch of English sights came up. Kyoko felt dread settle in her stomach. Who knew that something like this could get so close to exposing him? Suddenly, Kyoko felt herself trying to think of how to protect his secret. _'Is this how he felt every time I got close to discovering something about him?'_ she wondered, and then she felt cold as she recalled her calling out the similarities between 'Ren' and 'Corn'. He must have been put in such a tight spot because of her, and she was fairly sure there were heaps more of stuff he was carrying on his shoulders! The watch! She even asked him about something that was obviously very personal!

"That's weird. It looks like it's mostly an American slang term. Huh..." Kanae scrolled down the web page, having to read the language somewhat slower than she was used to. She knew the language just fine, her photographic memory making it easier for her but it was still a little slower due to needing to translate in her head. Apparently it had something to do with the blood flow and literally turning the balls a blue hue in extreme cases. "Does that guy do a lot of work over seas?" she asked, opening another page and reading about the subject. Kyoko had to remind herself to keep her voice steady and her face cool.

"Well..., yeah. I don't know how often, but I know he's had to go over seas a number of times for work." Kyoko explains. Thankfully, Kanae seemed to accept it easily, but Kyoko still wanted to get the topic away as soon as possible. "A-anyway, I kind of... ended up giving him a... hand... job" she slowed and gave a curious look before Kanae confirmed with a nod and she continued "Yeah, a hand job, because he said it was one of the ways to help it and I had been planning on repaying him anyway. I didn't even think about the whole mouth thing. I guess I kind of got caught up in watching him in the mirror..." she trailed off with a sheepish expression, loving the memory of the way he had reacted to her and how amazing it had been to see his pleasure reflected back at her.

"Wait. Wait, wait," Kanae waved her hands in the air and tried to clear her thoughts for a moment, "You're saying that _you_ pleasured _him_ while looking in the mirror? Not the other way around?" she clarified. Kyoko's eyes widened as she shook her head, then paused to think with a blush. Having Corn pleasure her in the mirror... that sounded really erotic. Would he want to?

"Is it... bad?" she asked, looking to her friend worriedly. Kanae laughed and shook her head.

"No! It's far from bad! It's a little hilarious, though. I thought for sure that Tsuruga-san would have been the one jumping on you for these kinds of things, but it sounds to me like you're the one in charge! I have a hard time picturing that guy as passive or timid. He seems like the dominating type." Kanae laughed even louder as she pictured Ren bowing down and kissing timid little Kyoko's feet. Why was it such a believable picture? It was too amusing! "Actually, it sounds like the kind of stuff Chiori had in that book she lent you. I still have it on the desk over there if you want to take it home and read it after all. I finished it days ago. From the sound of things, it's right up your alley of interests, or at least where you're heading. I bet Tsuruga-san would be into getting tied up." Kanae actually laughed as she imagined it, big strong Trusruga Ren tied to a post as Kyoko hovered over him with a feather or a riding crop. The thought of how Kyoko and Ren were both very good at acting came to mind, but Kanae quickly pushed the thought to the back of her mind. She didn't need to recommend that Kyoko record some kind of raunchy BDSM porn or something..., though it would certainly have much better acting than any of the porn videos she had bothered to take a peek at in the past.

In any case, she didn't need to bring up such a thing now. Kyoko was barely getting into masturbating and pleasuring one another, she didn't need someone pushing her into deepening the relationship so quickly. Maybe Tsuruga had a point in keeping their relationship under wraps from his manager after all.

* * *

"Kyoko, you finished up early!" Yashiro said excitedly, opening the door a little wider as he stood to the side and let her into the dressing room. Ren was currently sitting and looking over his script, glancing up with a soft smile as she entered. He was wearing a dashing suit for the drama he was currently in studio for, looking quite comfortable and relaxed as he waited for their lunch break to finish up. Yashiro still didn't know what exactly her job at TBM was, but she had managed to get away up to this point with vaguely explaining it was love-me work. The young woman gave a polite bow to Ren, not seeing the teasing smirk their manager was shooting said man. "We just have a couple more scenes to go over before we're done for the day. Oh, let me go make sure the time for tomorrow hasn't changed at all." he says, smoothly exiting the room with one of his usual excuses. Kyoko looked over to Ren, and then the two released their soft laughter.

"I can't believe I never noticed what he was doing before we were together." she giggled lightly. Ren nodded and set down his script before standing and stretching his back. Kyoko watched with silent appreciation.

"Yeah, but I am starting to feel a little bad about it. It's clear that he's frustrated about it, especially with how I _appear_ to have taken a step back as of late." Ren chuckled. Kyoko hummed lightly and leaned back against the wall next to the door, looking up at him shyly.

"Kanae-chan thinks we should tell him before we get much more serious in our relationship. In the mean time..., it couldn't hurt for you to try and advance a little more, you know." she teased in a soft voice. Ren hummed and reached up, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear as he leaned in and lightly nuzzled his nose against hers.

"I _have_ been thinking about taking you out to a proper date, as of late. Maybe right after I return from that shoot I have in the Mariana Islands? I can have Miss Woods wait a day to change my hair back, so I'll be a little more disguised." he recommended. Kyoko giggled lightly at that thought. Of course Lory's personal makeup artist would be responsible for Ren's hair getting fixed up.

"That's almost a whole week away, isn't it?" she clarified as she enjoyed his little nose-nuzzles. Ren hummed lightly and gave one nod before standing up straighter and kissing her forehead. Kyoko giggled again as she felt his soft lips on her skin, reaching up and playing with the tie. "So I have at least that long to keep you as my little secret." she cooed, tugging the silky tie to bring his face closer. Ren couldn't hold back the seductive grin on his face as she pulled his face down with the tie, her soft lips connecting with his own briefly. The man hummed and braced himself against the wall, a hand on either side of her caging her in as he leaned down and pressed for more. The girl happily complied, her right hand holding tight to his tie to maintain her feeling of control as her left snaked up around his neck. Ren pulled back, putting just an inch of space between their lips.

"Kyoko." he hummed her named before she used his tie to pull him right back, her lips hungrily moving against his. She loved kissing him, tasting his lips and feeling his skin. It only seemed to be enhanced after she had spent the night a few days ago, and she hadn't gotten to spend a lot of personal time with him since then. She was starving for his kisses. She could finally see why he kissed her so hungrily before. The desire was like a whole new kind of hunger, and she was famished. He pulled back again, panting slightly. "Kyoko, slow down," he chuckled, "you're drowning me again." he teased, but made no resistance when her hand came up to thread through his hair, scratching at his scalp and his eyes rolled shut as she pulled him back in.

"Then drown with me." she hummed. Ren moaned deeply this time as he pulled her body to him as he followed her orders, barely braced against the wall to keep him from toppling over in his euphoria.

* * *

Yashiro came back to the dressing room with a wide grin on his face. Ren might be backing off a bit lately, but he could tell the actor was still absolutely smitten with her. That should have been an adequate amount of time for the idiot-in-love to get wound up again. Grining at the thought, Yashiro placed his ear against the door to see what the two may have talked about in his absence. It was probably just acting stuff, but... the man paused as he heard silence, and then a deep moan. 'What?' Swinging the door open, Yashiro stared at the sight of Ren cornering Kyoko against the wall, an arm preventing her escape as he held her firmly to him while he devoured her lips. The manager let out a loud squeal and dropped his phone with a loud crash.

"Ren! What are you doing to..." The couple broke apart, staring over to the doorway as Yashiro gaped, his voice stuck in his throat as his eyes zeroed in on Kyoko's hand clutching Ren's tie, and the other buried in his hair. Ren swallowed nervously before slowly releasing his arm from around Kyoko and painting on a bright smile while the girl timidly released Ren's tie and hair, standing up against the wall with a bright blush, looking away in her embarrassment as she refused to look over to Yashiro.

"Yukihito-kun, can you please come in and shut the door?" Ren asked. Yashiro slowly did as he was asked, gaping like a fish and never taking his eyes off the pair the whole time. Surely the scene would vanish the second he took his eyes away.

"I guess that takes care of telling him." Kyoko grumbled under her breath, still looking away. Ren's eyes flicked to her with a look of concern before they returned to Yashiro.

"Indeed... Yukihito-kun, I believe Kyoko and I have something to discuss with you."

"You... you were...!" Yashiro stammered out, looking like he might be starting to have trouble breathing a bit.

"We were kissing, yes. That's what we want to talk to you about."

"She was pulling you...!" Kyoko ducked a little further down as Yashiro mentioned how she had been treating the tall actor. Ren frowned unhappily and pulled her back into his chest, ignoring the sound of air leaving a balloon that their manager seemed to be making as he wrapped his arms protectively around the embarrassed girl.

"Yashiro, I think you're being incredibly unprofessional about all of this. This is precisely the kind of behavior that kept us from telling you earlier." Ren scolds. Yashiro's jaw dropped completely.

" ** _Earlier?_ **How long has this been going on?" he demanded, motioning to their tight embrace with a somewhat violent wave of his hand. Ren huffed and glanced away, looking like an over-sized pouting child.

"Only a few months."

"A few...!"

"See? You're still freaking out."

"Of course I'm 'freaking out', Ren! I was rooting for you two to be together longer than anyone! Longer than _you_ even! What about all my help and privacy I gave you?"

"Is that what you call teasing me and constantly bemoaning how slow my progress is?" Yashiro sputtered indignantly.

"That was... I was just...!"

"You were just doing things that would have made Mogami-san very uncomfortable had she found out before she was ready to accept me." Ren states, hugging the girl a little tighter and drawing out a tiny squeak from her. Yashiro fell silent with a pout. Ren smirked triumphantly. "See? Can you really blame me?" Yashiro looked like he was going to retort, so Ren cut him off, "Exactly. However, it is true that you are very supportive, and Kyoko and I both see you as a valuable friend, so we are willing to rely on you. I hope that it won't be too much trouble to ask you to schedule us in a way that allows occasional dates and some evenings to relax together." Instantly, Ren could see the gleam of excitement shining in Yashiro's eyes again as he snatched up the phone he had dropped on the floor, quickly opening it and making sure everything was working alright. Seeing that it was fine, he readjusted his glasses and tucked it away.

"Very well, I'll look at your respective schedules tonight after this job and see how I can line them up any more." he says proudly. Ren smiled and finally loosened his hold on his girlfriend, looking down at her fondly.

"Thank you, we both appreciative it." Ren said with a smile as Kyoko smiled in her agreement. Yashiro nodded firmly.

"Of course. Now straighten yourself up again. Lunch break will be over in roughly eight minutes." The manager says before marching back out of the room. As soon as the door swung shut, the couple could hear a loud squeal of excitement echo through the halls. Kyoko giggled as she glanced up at a smirking Ren.

"Well... that went well." he joked.

* * *

 _When the kiddies get too excitable, the voice of reason must intervene._

 _I don't know if there's actually a book called "the magic within us" or whatever. I just thought it sounded like an appropriate title.  
_ _On another note, I had a lot of fun writing Yashiro's part._

 _I have a few things I have to consider for later chapters._

 _1\. If Ren and Kyoko can keep Yashiro from notifying Lory of the new status of their relationship. I'm pretty sure it's been hinted at in the manga that Lory has Yashiro as his ship co-captain, not to mention how Yashiro works for him._

 _2\. Hymens. Kyoko is obviously a virgin, but hymens are a bit one, I've heard not all girls are born with one. Most are, but not all. For two, it's somewhat easy to break a hymen with every day activities, not to mention if she starts getting more rough with her masturbating. I wouldn't at all be surprised if Kyoko broke hers with that crazy way she rides her bike._ _Feel free to comment. I'd like to know others' thoughts._

 _For those of you who have been commenting, thank you so much. I've been having a lot of fun with this, and it's nice to know other people have too, and it's an added bonus that it's helping to spread a bit of information on the things that society (at least in the US anyway) likes to shove in the shadows._

 _Thank you fir reading!_


	6. Chapter 6

_I know it's been a long time. I am fully aware, believe me. Don't worry, I've been nesting ideas in my head on how to go about this. I figured that starting with a good old "girl talk" between Kyoko and her best bud would be the best way to re-hash what I had left off at... three... four weeks ago? Has it really been that long? Longer? Oops. I could give my excuses of planning a wedding, being on a two-week honeymoon all throughout Italy, struggles with lost work, and yadda yadda yadda, but it wouldn't really change anything, and I doubt any of you really care past the point of "oh, more to read" or something, so I'll spare you the extra chatter._

 _Anyway, here's your new chapter_ _._

* * *

 _._

"The Mariana Islands?" Kanae said, frowning lightly in thought as Kyoko concentrated on making her third tiny braid in the older girl's hair. Her own hair already had a somewhat messy and loose french-braid going down the side. Kanae hadn't been very experienced in the activity of hair-play. She had been able to easily recall the images and demonstrations she looked up, but putting it into practice was something else entirely. She would try again on a later date [maybe practice on her family secretly] but for now, she was still a bit frustrated from her first real attempt and how foolish she felt at failing in front of her friend.

"Yeah, he's scheduled to be there for about eight days I believe, and then he'll be coming back home and taking me on a date." Kyoko couldn't hold back the large smile that was pulling at her lips and leaving her cheeks a bit sore.

"A date huh? This will be the first one you go on, right? I guess it's a good thing your manager found out today, then." Kanae observes. Kyoko nodded excitedly next to her, blushing lightly at the memory of getting caught making out with Ren. She finished the tiny braid and then shifted to the other side of Kanae to start on a new part of the hair style she had imagined for her best friend.

"Ahuh, Tsuruga-San said it would be a good opportunity be- uh... because he'll have been out of the public eye for a while and he can easily don a disguise." Kyoko explains, quickly remembering not to divulge Corn's secret. It had been hard enough for Kyoko to dodge the older girl's questioning about why she still calls him so formally, barely scraping by with an explanation that informal address was reserved for when they were alone for now. Kanae hadn't looked entirely convinced, but at least she had let it drop at the time. Kyoko wasn't sure if she could dissuade the other girl if she let it slip that Ren looked completely different when he had to travel abroad at all. "And now that Yashiro knows about it, we can easily plan dates and dinners and such. Yashiro's... more than a little eager to help with that." She admits a bit timidly. Kanae quietly speculated that the man must be a bit excitable about the love-life between Ren an Kyoko. It was still taking a bit of getting used to the idea that the straight-laced looking man actually acted like some gushing school-girl in private. Maybe he himself should have gone into acting.

"Just watch out for anyone with a camera. Disguises aren't completely fool-proof." Kanae warns, to which Kyoko easily nodded her agreement. "I'm surprised you agreed to come over, though. Don't you want to spend as much time as possible with him before he goes?" She suggests. She was happy to have easily reserved a girl night with her friend -and for a second night in a row at that- but it was still a bit surprising. Kyoko pouted lightly as she pinned Kanae's silky hair and tiny braids in the back of her head.

"I was right! You look like a beautiful elf with your hair like this!" Kyoko took a quick moment to gush and snap several pictures of the other girl, then a couple selfies together before she finally answered. "I do want to spend time with him, and I really would like to spend the night again at least once before he goes, but... it's still such a new relationship, you know? I don't want him to think I'm clingy or overly eager. I don't want to get as overly attached as I did with Sho. I cringe just from thinking about how I acted back then." She gagged lightly before dramatically shivering. Kanae frowned lightly as she watched her friend.

"While I definitely think you shouldn't go crazy about it and hang off of him like some drooling leach, it sounds just a little bit like you're letting the actions of a neglectful and toxic person reflect your relationship with someone that actually wants to care for you. You should feel comfortable talking to your boyfriend about the things you want, but be mature enough to listen to him if he says he doesn't feel comfortable with it. Does he seem like the kind of person that needs a lot of space or something?" Kanae asked, already fairly sure that Ren wasn't the type to push the small girl away really. Unsurprisingly, Kyoko was able to quickly shake her head in the negative at that.

"Quite the opposite, actually. Tsuruga-san is borderline overly-affectionate. He's always pestering me when I'm trying to cook or read or clean. He's like a puppy that just wants to be loved and cuddled. All. The. TIME!" Kyoko groans, though Kanae could see the amused grin on Kyoko's face.

"Okay no, _that_ is what you call clingy. You might find it cute now, but that kind of thing can get old really fast. Is Tsuruga-san really that starved for affection? You would think a big star would want to keep a bit more of his space after a long day of facing fans." The girls fell silent for a moment as they mulled it over. The man in question was certainly a bit different than Kanae expected. If she didn't know with absolute certainty that Kyoko was 100% telling the truth about her relationship with the actor, she would almost think she was talking about a totally different person, or maybe making it up all together. Ren always gave off a very mature and mysterious air wherever he went. It was one of his greatest appeals to his fans. Then again... it was very common for people to show a totally different side of themselves when they date someone.

"I think... Tsuruga-san keeps the world at a distance. I don't think even Yashiro really gets all that close to him, though he's certainly the closest I've seen... maybe president-san?" Kyoko mused slowly. Kanae hummed and leaned backward, propping herself up with her arms as they lounged lazily on the floor now. If Ren truly stayed so cautious of who he allowed to get close, it made a bit more sense for him to be so affectionate with his loved ones, especially if he only ever opened up in private. She could actually relate to that mindset a bit, wanting few friends that were very close rather than a lot of friends that were really shallow. Still, it was strange to think of him being so vulnerable. It sounded like he opened up pretty quickly once they actually started dating... supposedly anyway.

Kanae stared up at her ceiling silently for a moment. 'He must have fallen harder than I thought.' She thought quietly. People tend to do stupid things when they're in love, though. Even the president couldn't deny that, what with how often it becomes a plot point in movies and dramas and all. The harder people fall, the more they become a ball of conflicted emotions. Fear and comfort, vulnerable and guarded, open but hiding. She might not know a lot about Ren on a personal level, but she had already realized through past conversations with Kyoko that the man seemed to hold on to a _lot_ of secrets.

"How do you know if he's being totally honest with you? How do you know that he's not still hiding things from you?" Kanae asked with concern. Her worry only deepened as Kyoko shook her head.

"I don't, really. He's already told me there's a whole lot more he's yet to talk to me about, but he wants to breech those topics slowly. I think... Tsuruga-san might have gone through some really heavy things, and I'm honestly a bit scared about what those things could be." She says, her mind trailing to the things Reino had said back when she was struggling with facing him. He told her the previous owner of her 'Corn' stone had gone through a painful time, so much so that Reino even said he might be dead if he didn't get out of that situation. With 'Ren' being 'Corn', he very much might have narrowly avoided death, supposing that Reino might have been telling even a shred of truth.

Kyoko's eyes watered just thinking about the possibility of such a thing. Ren had brought so much to her life, shown her so many great things and set her on the right path with the right expectations as an actor when she had been blinded by her hatred and desire for revenge.

"Woah! Hey! If you two have already discussed it, there's nothing to get worked up about." Kanae says hastily as she was faced with Kyoko's tears. "Just hold him accountable and it'll be fine. He can tell you things when he's ready. I just wanted to make sure you felt you could talk to him about your own expectations and desires without worry. No matter how well you know one another, neither one of you can read the other's mind. You have to say it, that's all. I'm sure it's fine." It was clear that the raven-haired beauty had no idea how to console a crying person. Kyoko couldn't help but let out a soft laugh at her friend's expression of worry and desperation even as she did her best to properly help.

"Thank you Moko-san. I'll talk to Tsuruga-san tomorrow." She says with a little smile pulling at her lips. Kanae let out a sigh of relief as Kyoko's phone chimed from a received message. All it took for Kanae to confirm her suspicions of the sender was to see Kyoko bright smile stretch to its limits. Kanae found herself just a tad jealous over how easily Ren could get such a reaction out of Kyoko.

"Yeah whatever. So, about the book you finished last night..."

.

* * *

.

.

Yashiro was almost as bad as Ren had feared. Almost. While he had been good on his word so far to not tell anyone about the secret dating between Ren and Kyoko -even managing to keep it from Lory, though Ren suspected that might be because Lory hadn't been around them yet- the manager had been squirming and softly squealing in delight when the two of them so much as shared a silent but fond glance. Ren was honestly surprised the bespectacled man was able to control himself at all when there were other people near by, only to let it all loose as soon they were in private. Kyoko had pulled away far too many times out of embarrassment of Yashiro's reactions, and Ren was starting to reach the end of his rope when suddenly his lady love proposed she come over for a quiet dinner at his place that night. All the tension that had been building up from Yashiro's behavior vanished in an instant. He didn't even care about his silently vibrating manger next to him, too focused on how Kyoko had asked to come over, what it could possibly mean, how her soft cheeks were now an adorable shade of pink, and how much he longed to kiss that plump lip she was chewing out of nervousness. She had only took the initiative in asking to come over one other time during their relationship, and it had later been raveled to him that it was because she had been wanting to "learn more about him". He wasn't entirely sure what she had meant by that, but he had his suspicions based off the fact that she had gotten what she was looking for and the fact that they had done nothing but intimate acts that night. Even if she wasn't looking for more release or exploration, he would gladly accept her company any day. He nodded his agreement easily and the bright smile she responded with melted his insides completely.

Quietly, he pulled his mental restraints tighter. He had been doing his best to let Kyoko go at her own pace, to not pressure her and overwhelm her too much, but he still let his desires slip past his defenses at times, and he was honestly shocked that she hadn't run from him yet. He had touched her more than he ever thought possible, more than he had even dared to allow himself to fantasize... most nights. She had let him see her, touch her, kiss and lick... he quickly shut those thoughts away to bring back later..., when he was alone. Nothing good would come from him springing a boner now, not while they were still out in public.

He could hardly wait for the day to be over after her little request. The knowledge that she was coming over at the end of the day... it hovered around in the back of his mind all throughout his interviews and such, barely becoming bearably quiet when acting out scenes, and spun around messily in his mind as he was dropped off in the garage of his apartment with the very object of his distraction.

"You've been staring a hole in me again today, Corn." She says as she leads the way up to his place. She was leading the way there! Ren didn't know if he should be frieghtened at her incredible ability to adapt, or delighted at how comfortable she had already gotten with him. He had prepared himself for the possibility that it would come one day, but never in his wildest dreams had he thought it would come so soon and so naturally! She turned to look at him as she stood in front of his door, tilting her head in the most adorable way. "... did I do something wrong?" She asked worriedly. Ren quickly shook his head, his lips instinctually pulling up onto a vibrant yet warm smile as he quickly pulled himself together to reassure her.

"Not at all. I'm just enjoying this."

"Enjoying...?" She echoed curiously as she watched him unlock the door and they stepped inside. Kyoko let out a gasp of surprise when Ren pulled her into a firm hug as soon as the door shut tight. "C-Corn?" She called out timidly before she felt him place a lingering kiss atop her head, a chuckle vibrating softly in his chest.

"You have no idea how happy it makes me for you to initiate these things." He spoke softly, the deep voice rumbling next to her ear sending little delightful shivers up and down her spine. How could a voice be so exciting? It wasn't like she never heard him speak before. Somehow, the soft tone and the ability to feel it made it effect her senses differently than usual. She marveled at it quietly as she fidgeted her open palms against his firm chest for a short and silent moment.

"But... Corn was the one that grabbed me first thing when we walked in."

"You requested to come over. That's enough for me." He claimed. Kyoko pouted lightly, feeling a mixture of happiness and worry as she pondered over his behavior and words. Slowly, a smile pulled at her lips and she hugged his neck to help pull him down for a deeper kiss. The man made absolutely no protest in response, humming happily and placing his hands on her hips.

Kyoko gasped lightly as she felt her back hit the door softly, one of Ren's hands coming up next to her head as he braced himself against the door. The kiss quickly deepened as he took advantage of her surprise, delving his tongue into her mouth and coaxing her own along as her hands trailed up to tangle and tug in his hair. He moaned deeply, as she knew he would, and then his firm body was pressing into hers. Kyoko was dizzy when Ren finally pulled away, his hands steadying her as a deep chuckle rumbled in his chest. Kyoko's lips tweaked upward at the sound. She didn't quite understand it, but the sound of his soft chuckles was oddly pleasant.

"I guess I should get started on dinner then?" She said with a dreamy smile on her face. Ren hummed thoughtfully at that.

"Sure, but I'd like to help." He said, reaching up to run his fingers through her hair and tame the mess he had made just a bit. Kyoko's mortified face brought him pause however.

"I mean no offense to you, Corn, but I've seen you cook. I think you should just leave this task to me." She stated a bit cautiously. Ren pouted lightly.

"I'm not taking offense, because I am well aware that I lack skills in that area, but I can at least assist. My mother wasn't very good at cooking either, maybe even worse than me, but she still cooked together with my dad. I can do small tasks, like stirring or setting a timer, breading the chicken, mixing, adding previously prepared ingredients, stuff like that." Kyoko barely had a chance to prepare herself as she saw his pout emerge. She huffed and turned away quickly, taking off her shoes before marching into the kitchen. She didn't have to turn around again to know he was following her.

"Fine. I'll let you help, but as soon as you cause me trouble, I'm kicking you out of the kitchen." she warns. She peaked back at him to see if he was dissuaded, but all she saw was a bright and happy smile. Well... maybe a _little_ trouble from him wouldn't be so bad.

Cooking with Ren helping her was surprisingly nice. She suspected he had been wanting to for a while but hesitated to ask for some reason, mostly due to his past tendency to hover around and hug her from behind while he watched her every little move. Transitioning from that to him actually helping, it was... different yet she knew it wasn't as different as she felt. She already knew she enjoyed it more when he at least stayed in the kitchen with her while she was cooking, though she had hardly given a lot of thought to it. Now though, with him contributing to the work when he wasn't hugging her or watching her work, it was... strangely fun. She enjoyed cooking already of course, but... there was something oddly similar about it to when they used to play as kids. Her strange happiness over it all bubbled out of her chest in the form of a giggle, getting a curious look from her boyfriend.

"No, it's just... it feels strangely reminiscent to playing as kids. I can't figure out why, though." she explains, her smile only growing as he looked up thoughtfully.

"You're right... though we actually get to _make_ things as adults, instead of just pretending to. Maybe we can make hamburger-steak next time, with a big yummy egg on top." his grin broke across his face at his little tease and Kyoko bumped him with her hip before jokingly whipping her head away.

"Are you assuming I'll let you cook with me again? You make too many messes." she huffed before peaking back at him, holding back the smirk of enjoyment tugging at her lips. Ren sent his pout at her again and she laughed as she rolled her eyes. "Oh fine. I _guess_ I can let you help again in the future. I'll just make you do the cleanup afterward." she joked. She wasn't exactly expecting him to enthusiastically grin at the accomplishment.

"Deal. No take-backs." he says eagerly. Kyoko looked back at him with shock, and then pouted as she realized he had both ensured she would let him help cook in the future, but also that he had successfully taken on the duty of cleaner henceforth. She had no doubt he would use her word as an excuse to clean from now on, meaning she couldn't as easily push him out as she did it herself. She was still trying to get used to the fact that she actually had to deal with him trying to do these things. She never had this problem with Sho... A soft smile pulled at her lips as she turned back to her cooking. Ren leaned so his head was in her view again, though he let her gently push him so he wasn't so close to the stove.

"What's that adorable little smile for?" he asked curiously. Kyoko blushed lightly at his smooth compliment he had slipped into the question. Yet another thing she was still getting used to.

"I just... I'm grateful that you're... you." Ren blinked quietly for a second before he took up his spot of hugging her from behind, nuzzling his nose into her neck affectionately and placing a few tiny kisses there.

"Thank you. I'm glad that you're who you are, too. So, so glad." he murmured close to her ear and tightened his arms around her waist slightly. Kyoko hummed lightly as she heard the sincerity in his voice, tilting her head to nuzzle lightly against his own as she cooked. This was all taking a bit of getting used to, but she found that she quite liked it.

* * *

"What's this?" Kyoko asked, looking down at her palm. There rested a simple key ring with two keys on it, a tiny metal fairy charm attached to it.

"That," Ren stated with a soft chuckle, "would be a spare key to my place." Kyoko's head whipped up to stare at him, wide-eyed and slack-jawed.

"What? Why?" she practically screeched, though her hand subconsciously closed around the key as she held it firmly to her chest. Ren happily noted that her immediate reaction wasn't to push it back into his hand with firm rejection. He'll take that as a tiny win.

"I would never deny you entry, and I want you to know you can come over whenever you like, even if I'm not home. I wanted to give this to you before I went to the Mariana Islands, so you could come over and relax, use whatever utilities, have some space, whatever you like. I only ask that you ask before bringing anyone over, and that you keep them out of my personal bedroom if you do. This is the key to the front door. This is to the bedroom." he says, pointing to the respective keys. Kyoko sat speechlessly on the couch, staring at the keys with shock. And then she frowned. "What's wrong?" Ren asked, concerned about her sudden shift in mood. She shook her head quickly.

"It's nothing."

"Kyoko...," He called slowly frowning disapprovingly, "we agreed to be honest about things that bothered us. Tell me what's wrong..., please." Kyoko sighed and fiddled with the little fairy on her key ring.

"It's really nothing. I'm just..." she sighed in defeat. "I'm wondering how often you've done this. I know your past relationships shouldn't reflect on our current one but... it just bothers me to think... this isn't as special to you as it is for me." she says sadly. Ren tried to hold back his laughter, gaining a glare from Kyoko as she suspected him of not taking her concerns seriously.

"Sorry, I'm not laughing at you, really. Kyoko, I've never given the key to my place to anyone before." he explains quickly. Her glare instantly shifted into a look of surprise, silently suppressed delight dancing in her eyes as she realized that this really was something special to him as well.

"Really? But... I just thought that with how many women you've sure to have dated in the past, and your playboy tendencies..."

"Now hold on a moment. I think there's something here that needs to be cleared up. You make me sound like I bounced around from woman to woman, never taking my relationships seriously." he says. At her skeptical look, he frowned. "That hurts, Kyoko. I didn't date girls without consideration. I tried to be accommodating. I cared for every one of them. I let them have the freedom to do whatever they liked, never getting angry or hurting them." Kyoko looked doubtful at that.

"You never got angry?"

"Well..., not usually. Sometimes they would say things that touched on stuff I wasn't willing to address back then. Looking back, I realize they were just trying to get a reaction out of me but... they still hurt. The point is, I didn't take my relationships lightly. I wanted to be good to them, but it never worked out. I could never hold onto a relationship for long. The longest a girl stayed with me was _maybe_ a month or so, and then I would get dumped. Usually they found someone else. A lot of times they said I just didn't love them enough. I never questioned it. I didn't fight them on it, just let them do as they liked. I was a kid. I didn't understand what I was doing wrong. I just thought I wasn't good enough for them. It was an inescapable pattern of being dumped and fired and rejected. I never even considered giving them a key. One, because I lived with my parents; two, because I just didn't trust them like that... I didn't love them the way I do you." Kyoko's eyes instantly flicked up to meet his, the girl rendered speechless for a moment before she ducked her head and shifted to hide her face in his shoulder. Ren smiled and silently pat her head, knowing that she needed a moment.

"They were all idiots." she mumbled from his chest. Ren looked down at her curiously.

"What?" he asked softly. Kyoko slowly pulled away to sit and face him on the couch again.

"They were all idiots for rejecting you... but I'm glad." her amber eyes flicked up to stare back at him, silently wishing to see his emerald eyes as well but knowing this wasn't the time to mention it. "It's selfish, but I'm glad. If you hadn't been rejected there, then you wouldn't be here. You wouldn't be with me." her gaze lowered until she felt a gentle finger under her chin, causing her to look back into his gaze as he gave her a fond smile.

"I'm glad too. I would die a hundred times over if it meant I could be here with you." he says. He had thought the line pretty smooth, but her response was far from positive, instead growing red with anger as she glared at him.

"Don't you dare. You're not allowed to die. Do you know how worried I was? Even if you tried to de-buff all of that Beagle's credibility, I was still so scared that something happened to Corn!" she scolds. Ren gave an apologetic smile, but she ignored it, instead placing her hands on his cheeks and squishing his face a bit. "I've already been worrying myself sick over what kind of things you may have experienced, about how close you may have brushed with death. You're not allowed to joke about death. You are the last person I ever want to hear joke about possibly dying, no matter how many times or for what reason." Ren stared at her with shock, the expression a bit comical with her squishing his cheeks, but she was still feeling a bit too spiteful to just release his face. Instead, she started rolling his cheeks around forcefully, making all kinds of weird faces on him as she cooled.

"I'm sorry, Kyoko. I didn't mean to upset you..., or make you worry. It... If it makes you feel any better, Lory acted a bit as my guardian angel. He's the one that brought me out of that place and brought me here, helped me create a new life so I could stand on my own, so I could fly freely." A small smile tugged at his lips as he made the little reference to his fairy story. Silently, he made a mental note to ease her worries about his past as much as possible... He may need to think a bit on how to word his experiences as softly as possible. It was technically true that he had gotten to a point of self-destruction, wanting to just fade away slowly. Kyoko pouted for a moment as she thought on Ren's words. She had suspected that Lory knew a great deal about Ren's past and the things that haunted him, but it was a bit surprising to think of him as some guardian angel... Her eyebrows scrunched together as a thought occurred to her and she looked to Ren unhappily.

"He didn't dress up as some angel, did he? I don't think big white wings and robes really suit him for some reason. Maybe it's too plain or main-stream for him or something." she says with a frown. Ren laughed and shook his head.

"No, he didn't dress up as an angel. I think he was wearing a robe of some sort, but flashy. That was... six years ago I think? I can't recall what exactly he was wearing, but I can definitely tell you he didn't look like an angel. If I remember correctly, I thought he looked like some pimp or something." he chuckled with a light shrug. She really hated that stupid little shrug. He did it just a _little_ more often in the privacy of his home ever since he confessed to his mixed linage. She rolled her eyes and decided it wasn't that big of a deal. What _was_ a big deal though, was that she now felt the need to thank Lory for looking after Ren. The only problem with that, is that doing so would mean revealing all that she knows, and possibly their relationship.

.

Bedtime brought her a small dilemma, sitting on the couch thoughtfully as Ren took his shower. He had cleaned up the kitchen while she took her own, leaving her nothing to busy herself while she contemplated her options. She was still getting used to the idea of sharing a bed with him, though she was glad that he hadn't pressed for more _in_ the bed last time. He was very patient with her. He would probably be understanding if she chose not to sleep there again, making it a one-time thing for the time being, which meant it would be easier to make it be an on-off occurrence. If she went to his bed this time, it would seem like she would sleep in the same bed with him _every_ time, and she didn't want to feel that pressure in case she had some times when she wanted to sleep alone. On the other hand, he would be going on his trip soon..., and then she wouldn't be able to sleep with him at _all_. She really wanted to spend as much time with him as possible until then, even if some of that time was sleeping. She sighed and twisted to look over at his bedroom door, slightly ajar and luring her to the huge and comfy bed. It... couldn't hurt if she just specified that it was only because of his encroaching trip. She would make sure he knew she could chose to sleep alone at any point and... whatever. She just wanted back in that bed, back in his arms. She all but ran and jumped on the bed, a grin splitting her face as she buried her face in the soft sheets. She felt a light smack on her butt and startled, bolting upright with a squeal and twisting to glare at her boyfriend. He only grinned back in response.

"I had to make sure you were real." he stated. She squinted at him, clearly not believing his excuse. Ren chuckled and walked over to his drawers, pulling out a set of pajamas as Kyoko stared at his naked form, only covered with a towel around his waist. She chewed her lip in appreciation of the view, watching as he dropped his towel and began dressing, only to pause and look back at her with a raised eyebrow. "Enjoying yourself, sweetheart?" he asked with a wink. Kyoko blushed and looked away quickly before pausing and turning back with a defiant raise of her chin. She was allowed to look, wasn't she? He had given her permission multiple times in the past already, after all.

"And what if I am?" she asked with a huff. Ren only chuckled and finished getting ready for bed, walking over as he dried his hair with the towel.

"Then I'm glad I'm an adequate enough to enjoy." he said simply.

"You're more than adequate, mister celebrity." Kyoko huffed with a roll of her eyes. Ren hummed and hung his towel on a hook before walking over to the bed, his green eyes trailing over her as she sat on his bed. What a vision. He wanted a picture, but refrained for the time being. Maybe he could ask her for a mini photo-shoot on a later date.

"Maybe for the commoner, but I have a whole new bar to reach if I want to please you, miss celebrity." he teased.

"I'm not a celebrity yet." Kyoko objected. Ren frowned lightly.

"Kyoko, you've already played major rolls in two dramas, not to mention a commercial, a music video, and an upcoming historical drama. You might not have debuted yet and become a household name, but you _are_ a celebrity. You're well-known enough to have reporters snapping pictures of you and asking if they can publish them." he pointed out as he crawled up onto the bed toward her. She gave him an odd look at that.

"No I'm not." She denied. Ren cringed and looked away. The president hadn't told her? Why did she think Yashiro had been assigned to her? "Corn? What was that look for? What are you not telling me?" she asked, her voice holding a warning tone to it. Ren sighed and hung his head as he sat on the edge, then looked up to watch her reaction as he explained.

"A few months back, just before I had to head out again, President Lory showed me a photo some reporter had come asking to publish. He turned it down, and so did the president of the company over the other person." she only looked more confused than before, so his eyes shifted away as he let out a sigh. She really had no idea what he was talking about. "Someone caught a photo of Fuwa kissing you... on that night that you were upset over your mother." he finally admits, his voice a bit soft. "I had been wanting to ask you about it for a while, but... I forgot about it for a while when you started responding to my advances and even making your own little advancements. By the time I even remembered it again, I thought maybe it wasn't relevant anymore." When he peaked back at her again, he found her eyes wide and mouth hanging open as she gaped at him.

"You... that..." she struggled to find her words for a moment, sputtering and flabbergasted before she took a deep breath to calm herself. "You... knew about that? There was a picture? I... Why didn't anyone tell me?" she asked. Ren frowned lightly in worry as he watched the hurt expression on her face.

"I'm sorry. I guess... maybe the president didn't want to worry you. He confronted me about the idea of having Yashiro change over to you, and have myself go on as usual with only needing the bare minimum of assistance from Yashiro so you could be safer. I readily agreed, and I suppose it never crossed my mind that you wouldn't know about the photo. They did recognize you though, Kyoko. You're new, and a little less experienced than others, still waiting on your big debut, but you _are_ a celebrity now." She frowned and nodded quietly for a moment before looking up at him with worry.

"Does this mean we have to be more careful? With our relationship, I mean." she asked. She had been so comfortable with him the last couple of months. She didn't like the idea of suddenly being on edge everywhere they go. Ren chuckled and shook his head simply.

"You don't have to worry about that. That's one of the reasons we have Yashiro, to watch out for those things and to act as a buffer. On top of that, we don't go to a lot of insecure locations. You have a bit more to worry about, though. The place you live doesn't have a lot of security, and it would be easy for anyone to walk in and dig up all kinds of information on you. I recommend you hide anything you don't want getting found here. I can put it in my safe, or we can get you a small one of your own."

"You have a safe?" she looked so surprised, imagining something like the movies where there's a picture hiding a wall-safe and whatnot. Ren chuckled and opened his bedside table, pulling out a black box with a key slot. It wasn't very big, roughly the thickness of a large book. He held it out to her and she accepted, her eyes widening as the weight filled her hands. It was far heavier than she expected, the cold metal registering in her mind that this was far heavier duty than it looked. He got up and left the room, only to return with his keys, placing a fairly small one in the lock before opening it. Inside were all kinds of official documents, including his passport, birth certificate, health insurance, on and on.

"Wow. I... I didn't even think about how much stuff you would have to hide legal-wise." she commented, picking up his american passport. She paused and looked up at him uncertainly. This was all very private stuff after all, even for people that are dating. "Can I look?" she asked. He was noticeably nervous, making a tiny curiosity nag in the back of her mind. His hand came up and rested on top of hers holding the passport, the actor swallowing thickly as he composed himself.

"Before you do..., just know that I intended on telling you my real name during our date when I got back. I don't want you to feel like I'm hiding things from you maliciously or anything, so I'll allow you to look." Kyoko looked from his nervous green eyes down to the still closed passport in their hands. She felt a lot more nervous now, knowing that this was something impactful..., though she wasn't exactly sure why. Corn wasn't his real name? His real name was important? He did say that no one was allowed to know who he was, but she couldn't think of anyone that could be for the life of her.

"I... I don't want to ruin the surprise you had planned for our date." she says slowly, starting to push it toward him. Ren chuckled and lifted his hand off of hers, holding both up in surrender instead.

"Honestly, this is probably a little easier for me, to just let you see it for yourself. Also, this isn't my main surprise for our date. I have something big planned for you that I think you'll quite enjoy. This was just... something I felt I should tell you, but that I didn't think I would be ready to talk about until the time limit I set for myself."

"Time limit?" she _may_ be stalling a bit. She didn't even know what she was nervous about. It wasn't her name..., though taking his family name... nope, not the time to think about that!

"I told myself I would tell you my real name by the time we have our first official date. It's how I push myself to do the difficult things. For example: back in Guam, I told myself I would tell you everything about myself when we met as 'Corn' and 'Kyoko' again. It didn't exactly work out the way I thought it would..., but I think this is a little better for my heart, doing things one at a time. There's a lot to cover after all." She hummed and looked down at the little booklet in her hand again, opening the cover and then slowly starting to turn the page to the identification part. There in the picture was a blond-haired, green-eyed Ren. He didn't really look happy in his picture, but he was still as beautiful as she remembered. For some reason, it felt like she hadn't really connected 'Ren' and 'Corn' as the same person until that moment. Here it was, though, complete and absolute evidence that they were one and the same. Her eyes slid to the name and she froze, eyes growing wide.

 **Kuon Hizuri**

It was plain as day, and yet her mind struggled to grasp it. Kuon. THAT Kuon. _'He...'_

Her mind seemed to short-circut, her body staying frozen in place as she stared. Silently, she realized that she wasn't breathing. How do you breath again? The lungs. Breath in. HOW DO YOU BREATH IN? _'Expand the lungs. You need to expand the lungs!'_ She put all her mental capacity in trying to expand her lungs and pull some air in, feeling a great relief as she felt a bit of air pull into her body. With that tiny bit of relief, breathing slowly became easier and more natural again. _'Woah... what was that?'_ she wondered for a moment before she turned her attention back to the passport in her hands, and then up to the heavily worried expression on her senpai. He had his hands up, hovering close to her but frozen in place, wanting to make sure she was okay but afraid to touch her and possibly make things worse. She tried to speak, but it felt like she suddenly had a rock in her throat. Still, she needed to assure him that she was okay. She needed to give him a response.

"You're Kuon." she spoke, her voice cracking slightly. His green eyes stared back at her silently, eyebrows crinkled as he nodded twice.

"I am." his voice was soft, as if this was the greatest secret he could ever utter. Perhaps it was for him.

"You're father... You're Kuu-sensei's son." he looked hurt when she changed her address to his father.

"Kyoko... Hizuri Kuu may be my father, but please don't change your view of him on my account. I am more than happy to share my family with you. I don't want to be your sibling, on account of wanting to stay with you romantically, but my family is yours and I know they would want it no other way." It was one of the reasons he had been afraid of bringing it up. He had known she would try to 'be respectful' or something similar, but his parents wouldn't want that, especially his father. Kyoko looked down at the passport again. Slowly, a tiny smile started to tug at her lips.

"I see... macho hero man, huh? _And_ the fairy king? It makes a bit more sense now." she giggled. Ren relaxed and shifted closer to her, pulling out a small photo and trading it for the passport. Kyoko easily relented and looked down at the new picture instead. There was young Corn -or Kuon she supposed- sitting in one of his father's arms with a big grin and a little bird eating out of his palms as Kuu stared down at him lovingly. holding Kuu's other arm was the most beautiful woman Kyoko had ever seen, smiling softly as she held a small basket with another bird on it, it's feathered butt sticking up in the air as it pecked at whatever birdseed was likely in the basket she offered. "You have a beautiful family Co... K-Kuon." she spoke softly. Ren smiled lightly as she glanced back up at him.

"As I said, I'm more than willing to share them with you." he reminds her. She blushed up at him and looked back down at the picture. She doubted he understood the kind of implications his words were putting into her head. He was such a natural playb-... Or did he know after all? She glanced back at him again, gaining a curious eyebrow-raise in response.

"You really shouldn't say things like that so simply, Corn." she scolded with a light pout. Ren looked confused for a moment, thinking over his words before returning his gaze to her.

"I mean every implication of that phrase, Kyoko, in every way except siblings. Don't worry though, I'll be sure to ask you properly when the time comes. You're the one woman I don't plan on letting walk away so easily, not now that I've finally got you." Kyoko pouted and handed back the picture as she looked away, only looking back at him when she heard the key in the lock as he put away his documents and settled the safe back into his bedside table. "For now, though, I think it's time for bed. Should I take your eager jump into my bed a moment ago to mean you'll be spending the night in my arms yet again?" he asked, barely contained hope evident in his voice. Kyoko fiddled her fingers timidly for a moment.

"I just want to make it clear, I'm only joining you because you'll be away for a while. I reserve the right to sleep in the guest bedroom at any point and any day. It's nothing against you. I just think I may want to sleep on my own sometimes." she assures him. Ren simply smiled and reached out to pull her into the covers with him.

"Of course you can sleep wherever you like, Kyoko. I have my preference, obviously, but I understand the need for space." With that, they quickly settled down and Ren switched off the lights, gently pulling her into his chest within the darkness.

"Corn...?" Kyoko called, getting a soft hum in response. "I... about the picture. I'm sorry I let him get to me again." she said, feeling a bit ashamed at having broken her promise to him.

"Kyoko, I only care that you're okay, and that you're with me. If you want to talk about it, we can, though I think the day has already been filled with quite a few serious conversations already." Kyoko giggled lightly at that. It had definitely been a bit mentally and emotionally exhausting today.

"I just wanted to make sure that you knew I hadn't wanted it or anything. Sho was... well, I don't really know what he was thinking, but he was just being stupid in any case. I just wanted him to leave me alone... I'm glad I was able to see you after everything was all said and done, though." another giggle escaped her. "I can't believe I mistook you for... well, you. How could I have been so blind?"

"Fairy dust?" Ren proposed into the dark. Kyoko huffed lightly at his little joke.

"You enchanted yourself. Must be strong magic in your family line." she joked bake. The responding chuckle that vibrated against her ear was soothing enough to bring her sleep quickly. Ren wasn't quite as lucky, his mind tumbling in anger at a singer that he was now thinking of throttling for taking advantage of Kyoko's weak and vulnerable state at that time. It was only the soothing reminder of Kyoko's soft prescience in his embrace that he was slowly able to drift into sleep.

* * *

 _Woo! First of my make-ups done! Up next, the first (official) date. It was admittedly a bit difficult to get this one started, because I don't really know what girls DO when hanging out. I thought about having them watch a movie, but I felt they would want to pay attention if it was one the other was in, and anything else would need a reason for them to watch it, which I was just not up for giving a lot of thought to at the moment. I quizzed both my significant other and google for maybe half an hour on what it is that girls do for bonding while talking before I finally had an epiphany to use something my sisters would do a lot when we were all younger. There isn't a whole lot I can use with them due to the age gap (my older sister is 2 years older then me and younger sister is 7 years younger so...) but I figured at least this would be okay to use. *shrugs*_

 _My darling and I are back from out 2 weak long honeymoon, so I'm prepared to buckle down and make up for some lost time in writing for this series. I DID give you a little longer of a chapter this time, so I hope no one is TOO mad about the delay. What's done is done, though.  
_ _I'm super stoked to write out the date idea and see what you all think, then maybe I can try it irl if it gets lots of positive feedback. ;)_

 _ **Author Answers!**_

 _There are so many responses to my last chapter. Thank you all for leaving comments._

 _Hairy Friend- Thank you for your input on Yashiro. It helped me a lot when thinking about how things would progress on his end. It was somewhat obvious that they were both aware of the other knowing about Ren's feelings toward Kyoko, so I feel like there was a secret discussion at some point where they just sort of realized they had an ally... or Ruth is the real mastermind and made sure Lory knew that Yashiro knew. (Lol the thought) In any case, I plan on having Yashiro keep his mouth shut about the matter just so that Ren stays relatively open about it, but Lory will likely put the pieces together very quickly as soon as it's addressed again._

 _Alitablake- Thank you for your informative comment! While I do strive to give accurate information, I by no means think I know everything there is to know about sex and the things around it. My parents didn't cover personal topics like that when I was younger. The frustration I felt over never feeling like I could ask about these things when I was younger is one of the reasons I decided to write something like this in the first place, so clarification like this helps me a lot. Thank you._

 _Ashenvale- I agree with your view on Lory and Yashiro. I'll be working on that slowly._

 _Puffinzero- hello! Thank you for finding me (again haha). I hope I didn't leave this story hanging too long while I dealt with my wedding and honeymoon, and I hope you enjoyed this most recent chapter. Stay tuned. I'll be writing more shortly._

 _Erza Tsuruga- Haha thank you for your comment. I will say now, I prefer not to divulge my gender/sex/identity(?) not because I care what I'm called, but because that kind of thing shouldn't impact a piece of writing in any way. I also enjoy being a bit ambiguous with things that involve emotions and the mind. To put it simply, I don't believe a soul/spirit has any gender. I think our bodies are just vessels, and it's our job as living beings to figure out what we want to do with it. You may find me calling my significant other on here my "wife" or "husband" or various other things just to keep that part hidden, but I don't care what people speculate about the writer behind my stories, as long as you enjoy the story itself. As for my personality, I really only share a similarity with Kyoko in my love for fantasy. I think Kyoko is a lot like how I was as a young child. The little panic attack she had is actually an experience I had when I was in elementary/middle school, thoughts and all. I hadn't realized what it was back then, but I remember the couple of experiences vividly, though not the instances surrounding them oddly enough.  
If I was to say which character I am MOST like out of aaaaall the characters of "Skip Beat!"... I would say I'm probably most like Lory. I'm eccentric, love dressing up (Renaissance and medieval attire specifically), and maybe a little bit of a love-maniac ever since I really opened up to my own lover. Love was a large healing element in my life, and is the reason why I speculate that Lory may have experienced something similar. After Lory, I identify a lot with Ren, but mostly it's due to his experiences when he was younger, and how there are a lot of hints about him getting aggressive and bitter as a result. I don't know why I'm better at portraying some characters better than others, but I suspect it has to do with the people I watch irl. I'm not very good at self-reflection past the point of what I want, but I'm very good at observing others. I think one reason why I do fairly decent at portraying Kyoko is because she's fits pretty well in the image of my ideal woman. I could go on and on about that, but this answer has already gotten pretty long as it is.  
_ _I wish you could elaborate a bit more on what you found ooc about Ren? Was it just the last chapter? The whole story? A Single instance? I wanted to message you and ask before I posted this chapter, but it seems you're on a guest account I guess? I hope I wrote him okay in this chapter. :/_

 _Kaname671- Thank you for your review! I'm really pushing for the female interaction here, so it makes me happy to know that people find it acceptable so far. Funny enough, I'm more out of my comfort zone with friendly interactions rather than the intimate parts. The first date is already being written up, but I am hoping I can get some feedback fro this chapter before I finish and post it, just so that I can take the reactions into consideration and fix anything I may have missed before._

 _Guest(?)- I'm a little confused about "things being hid in the US" that you commented on. Are you talking about the circumcision? Or Ren's probable size? For the circumcision, it's mostly based off charts and studies I've read. For the size, it's mostly based on his physique. Ren is tall, muscular but lean, and has at least a little Russian heritage. I looked up a lot of statistics for that and saw far more dick-picks than I ever cared to just for accuracy sake of this story. I won't stop anyone that wants to look up "Russian man dick" though. Haha. I hope this answered your question._

 _Smilieface23- thank you for your comment. I'll certainly be taking all of that into consideration, though I don't know if sex itself will be relevant terribly soon. I haven't written that sort of thing for them yet. I understand about the hitting the cervix quite well, actually. I don't care to divulge too much information on it, but my significant other and I actually find that sort of thing to be quite pleasurable, so long as she's deep in the ecstasy. That may be a kink or connected to a small amount of masochism though, so I'd like to read/hear the opinions and experiences of various girls if I can. I think I read somewhere before that sex often heightens our pain tolerance or something, though. I might be a bit biased due to personal preference, but getting your back scratch a bit roughly is far more pleasurable during sex rather than any other time. My SO and I have also had plenty of experiences where being rough in the beginning is unpleasant, but the build-up causes the girl to actually ask for something extremely rough by the end. That'll be a bit more difficult for me to gather information on than the guys side, so hopefully I can write it well when the time comes._

 _Also thanks to Ktoll9, H-Nala, Kikoune, Katelynhonky, MWEH, EmmaLasagna, Jenndifurry, and Lialee for your comments on the last chapter. :)_

 _See you all soon!_


	7. Chapter 7

_I realize there wasn't a whole lot of smut in the past chapter. Even though there were a few things I COULD have put in, and did try writing up, it just felt a bit forced, and I didn't want to give the impression that relationships are always hot and steamy. They do tend to start out that way, but Ren and Kyoko are cautious individuals, so I feel like they would be excited but still try to pace themselves a bit more than most couples (there's certainly a bit more effort on Ren's part for that though). That being said, I'm giving just a bit more of a nudge in this chapter for some extra... flavor._ _I know I said I would have the first date in this chapter, but I realized I was being a bit hasty and skipping over some new experiences Kyoko would be going through during Ren's absence, so the first date ended up being pushed to the NEXT chapter. OOH the anticipation!_

 _I doubt I have to explain it too much, but the First Official Date is a bit lengthy on it's own, and there was a bit of ground to cover before that, not to mention it'll probably be a chapter with no real "Girl Talk" as it'll be focused on Kyoko and Ren instead of the wonderful female interaction [I think] you have come to this story for.*stupid american shrug* And so, a good chunk of this chapter is focusing on Kyoko and Kanae and all the things that go on while Ren is away._

 _On another note, it seems I said something in a misleading way in my last chapter's author note. When I said lost work, I meant "lost work on my writing" not my job. I've been with my current company for... seven years now? I don't think I'm going anywhere unwillingly (meaning until I get around to actually publishing my original stories).Thank you for the concern though, and I'm very sorry about my poor word choice._

 _With all that being cleared up,Enjoy._

* * *

"Are you sure you won't need me there at all, Ren?" Yashiro asked worriedly as he drove Ren and Kyoko to the first location of the day. Kyoko was relieved that the manager hadn't made a big deal about her spending the night at Ren's when he picked them up. She was completely unaware of the fact that the manager had gotten a thorough scolding and somewhat unnerving warning from her senpai and boyfriend beforehand. Ren still got a smirk and some eyebrow wiggles when she wasn't paying attention, but Ren would take Yashiro's old private teasing over the blatant gushing in front of Kyoko any day.

"I'm sure. I only have the one job to worry about while I'm there, so the only thing I have to watch out for is getting to places on time, and I'm more than capable of doing that. Kyoko needs your presence and assistance much more than me." Ren explains simply. Kyoko looked down at her hands silently as she recalled his explanation from last night. She was being looked out for, and she felt just a little frustrated at the realization that it was her fault that Ren was having to give up a good deal of assistance from his manager. The only up-side she could see to Yashiro not going with Ren when he traveled, was it took out the complication of them having to travel separately just to keep Kuon's identity and foreign appearance secret.

"I suppose that's true..." Yashiro relented softly. Kyoko puzzled over the thoughtful frown that pulled at the manager's lips. He must be keeping quiet about the reason surrounding his official assignment to her for the past few months. She sighed lightly and looked out the window, ignoring the nagging feeling as she felt Ren turn his burning gaze onto her. She glanced back at him, relieved to see him not trying to hide it this time around. He really had become increasingly open and honest with her ever since they started dating. She smiled softly at his concerned look, wanting to reassure him at least a little. She gave a quick glance toward Yashiro and recognition dawned in his eyes before he reached over and pulled her against him, kissing the top of her head. Yashiro's resistance was obvious, the man fidgeting about in his seat as he glanced in the rear-view mirror over and over.

"Yashiro, if you can't keep your full concentration on the road, I'm going to force you back into the passenger seat while _I_ drive." Ren warns seriously. Kyoko peaked up at the man, seeing not even a hint of teasing in his face. He was dead serious. Yashiro must have understood the gravity of Ren's warning, as he straightened up and focused on driving maybe a bit _too_ seriously now. The aspiring actress might have laughed at how dramatically Yashiro had changed his attitude if she wasn't busy frowning as she watched Ren, quietly recalling the time he had frozen up during filming due to... nearly getting in an accident with the cars. Her eyes widened and Ren glanced down at her, raising an eyebrow curiously at her shocked expression. "What? Did I say something strange?" He asked, visibly thinking over his words only to look puzzled when he couldn't find anything wrong with them. Kyoko shook her head quickly and looked down at her lap, then shifted to lean into his side lightly as she let his arm settle around her more comfortably.

"No, you didn't say anything strange. I was just... remembering something." She said slowly. Ren looked down at her curiously again and she quickly tried to think of a way to convey the message quietly. It seemed like one of his personal things after all. An idea struck her and she gently took his hand into both of hers, slowly looking up into his eyes and holding his gaze. It seemed to take him a moment before realization and then uncertainty showed in his expression, and then he slowly took her hand and shifted it to cover his watch. She stared for a moment at the new placement, and then looked up at him quickly, only to find him looking away and out the opposite window from her. So he wasn't ready to talk about it completely, but he was giving her a hint... She lifted her hand and stared quietly at the still face of the watch, tracing around the edge with her finger before slowly sliding her hand into his own again, linking their fingers together and squeezing gently. His gaze finally returned to hers and she smiled up at him, giving a small reassurance that she was still here with him. The soft smile he returned drew her to snuggle up to his side all over again. She didn't even care as she saw Yashiro squirming around at a stop light. This was more important than some eccentric manager. She won't pry, though; Kuon would tell her when he's ready.

* * *

Kyoko pouted lightly as they sat at the table in Ren's apartment. Ren's departure was only drawing nearer with every day, and it had bothered her a bit more on the way back to his place today for some reason. She had been spending a good deal of time with him and at his place for the past few days, spending time in his bed, in his arms, studying their scripts together, though it had been admittedly devoid of much... sensual pleasure. They had kissed -quite a lot actually- but there hadn't been a whole lot of the things they did her first time spending the night as a couple. She glanced up at him, finding him staring silently and curiously.

"You don't seem to be enjoying your food much. Should we have made hamburger steak after all?" He asked curiously. Kyoko had turned the idea down earlier, saying she didn't have the appetite for something especially heavy tonight, but now he was wondering if he should have insisted. She shook her head quickly before poking at her rice and chicken a bit more.

"No, it's not that. It's just... Is Corn tired of me?" She asked. looking a bit down at the thought. Ren's eyebrows shot up at record speed.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"Are you tired of me? What I mean is..., we haven't... you know... done a whole lot since we um... pleasured each other that first time. All the books seem to have an endless stream of it, with the guys almost constantly trying to get something, sometimes several times a day..." she was growing increasingly red as she explained, her courage to discuss the embarrassing topic quickly dwindling and the young woman starting to fidget about as she stared at her twiddling hands. "I looked up stuff online, and it seemed a lot of people said a man will get bored if you don't um... care for him well." She explained, clenching her hands together tightly as she steeled her nerves. There had been far too many things about men leaving a relationship, saying that a girl shouldn't be so stingy with her body when they were in a relationship. It sounded horrible... and yet, she felt herself compelled to do whatever needed to hold on to her current relationship. She felt her bitterness toward love flare up at it. It was clearly that wretched emotion's fault that she was willing to let go of her chastity so simply, over something as stupid as wanting to hold onto a relationship with Kuon..., but then she would find herself thinking that it wasn't such a bad thing. She wanted to stay with him after all, and he had already mentioned wanting to one day propose, even if he said it in a way that wouldn't get mistaken for an actual proposal yet.

"Do you want to do those kinds of things? Several times a day?" Ren asked, breaking her out of her thoughts. Kyoko looked up at him quickly.

"I... I don't know about several times! I mean, it sounds awfully time-consuming, and I know the first time we um... have sex is eventful and perhaps complicated or painful, so we would have to get past that. I was just..." She trailed off before developing an angry pout as she realized Ren was giving her a teasing smirk as he watched her, his chin propped up on one hand from the table and laughter dancing in his eyes. "This isn't funny, Kuon." She scolds. He always knew when she was serious when she used his real name instead of the secret little nickname she still held onto.

"Actually, it's very funny. I'm enjoying myself immensely. It's my right as your boyfriend to enjoy all your adorable expressions and moments." He replies smoothly.

"Kuon, I'm serious!" She states firmly, standing up and smacking her hands on the table to emphasize her point. Ren simply nodded.

"I know you are, but I think you're taking this far more seriously than you need to. Kyoko, I'm doing my best to make sure you can stay comfortable with me. I don't want to make you feel like you need to do anything to satisfy my desires. I want you to do things because you want to experience them with me when you're ready."

"But that just makes me want to even more!" She cries out in frustration. Ren blinked rapidly for a moment as he processed that.

"What?"

"I want to! I... You're so kind and considerate to me. I hate that love makes me willing to do all kinds of things for your benefit, even if it might be destructive to my _own_ well-being, but then you just have to be so freaking selfless about it, looking out for me instead of taking everything for yourself, and it makes me think you're worth it! What am I supposed to do about that?" She smacked her hands on the table again, this time feeling frustrated with her own feelings.

Ren watched her for a moment before slowly standing and walking over to her side, nudging her lightly until they were sitting on the couch.

"Kyoko, I know it's hard. I think I had a bit more time to adjust to this kind of thing, liking you and holding myself back for a good amount of time before you. Maybe I'm making it more difficult, even. Asking you to decide the pace may have put too much pressure on you to initiate all of our advancements in our relationship. I'm sorry I hadn't considered that possibility." He reached out and gently cradled her face, watching as she relaxed into the touch before she pulled herself closer to him, settling into his lap and snuggling against his chest. He happily accepted, wrapping his arms around her and kissing the top of her head. "I will try to act on my own desires more, but only if you promise to tell me if I'm moving too quickly or if you don't like something. If you say it's too fast, I'll back off. That doesn't mean we can't try to do it later, when you're feeling more ready, but it does mean that you have to be willing to be patient with me. I could easily think that maybe it's a good time to try something again, only for you to need to tell me to back off again. I could also be hesitant to try something you've said no to before, only for you to actually be wanting it then." He explains, slowly trailing his hand down her neck and tracing her collarbone. Kyoko's eyes fluttered lightly at the sensation, blushing prettily as she enjoyed the attention he was giving her.

"Then...," she licked her lips, mentally cheering as she noticed that little action still drew his attention there, "please, won't you hold me more?" She asked barely above a whisper. Ren's eyes bore into her as she was faced with that emperor look, her body thrilled as his hand slid downward slowly, sliding over one of her breasts and traveling further still as it passed over her side and rested on her hip.

"It would be my pleasure" he spoke softly, his voice doing that deep rumbly thing she loved. His other hand came up then, cradling her jaw as he leaned in and kissed her gently, their eyes sliding closed in unison. Kyoko hummed as her body relaxed into his touch, pressing forward and sliding her own hands up his abdomen. Her fingers danced up over his abs and chest before sliding over his shoulders and linking behind his neck, tightening until she was hugging it and her body was pressed firmly against his. She thrilled at the feel of the hardening bulge under her as she straddled him, rolling her pelvis against it and electing a deep moan from her boyfriend.

"Kyoko, that's a bit dangerous." He warned breathlessly as they parted for air.

"Dangerous?" She mumbled, turning her head to kiss his jaw while simultaneously rolling her hips again and threading her fingers in his hair to tug lightly. Ren gave a deeper moan at that, losing his words and encouraging her further at the sound. She had really been wanting him to touch her more, but now she was getting far more intrigued with how strongly he was reacting to her. The men in the books she had been reading always seemed to have so much control over the situation, only submitting when they were tied up and the woman demanded complete dominance. Ren was reacting so easily to her, however. She grinned widely as she took pleasure in it, running the flat of her tongue along his jaw before pulling his earlobe into her mouth and suckling. Ren gasped as his hands squeezed her ass, pulling her hips down on him harder as he ground upward. Kyoko jumped at the sudden sensation, lifting her hips upward quickly to stop him and stand on her knees on the couch. Ren's eyes snapped open and he looked up at her, slowly starting to look guilty as realization dawned in his eyes.

"Sorry..., though to be fair I did warn you." He says worriedly. Kyoko shook her head quickly before steeling herself again.

"No, it's fine. I enjoyed it. I was just surprised." she explains a bit hastily before slowly lowering back down to straddle him, rolling her hips and enjoying the pleasured groan he released in response, his head tilting back as his hands felt on her hips. Kyoko grinned as she pressed and rolled experimentally for a bit, then gripped his head and pulled him in for a heated kiss, her body growing hot with excitement and anticipation. They might not be ready for sex yet, but there was a hell of a lot more things they could do until then, and she was going to be sure to enjoy them thoroughly before he left on his trip.

* * *

When Ren first left on his trip, she assumed it would be the same as it always had been. They've had plenty of days apart after all. It wasn't like they constantly needed the other's company or something. As one day turned to four, however, she realized that wasn't exactly the case. She didn't _need_ his presence necessarily, but she certainly missed him.

"I shouldn't be so reliant on him. I'm a big girl. I don't need another person to make me happy." She grumbled in annoyance. Kanae looked up from the magazine she was flipping through.

"No one said you did."

"But like... why do I have to feel so lonely just because he's on a trip? I shouldn't feel like I need to text him every chance I get, right? It's not like _he's_ waiting for _me_ to send him a message or call him or something! Why should _I_?"

"You don't think he is?" Kanae asked, raising an eyebrow curiously.

"Well, I mean... You think he is?" The hope and eagerness in Kyoko's voice was almost too obvious. Kanae rolled her eyes.

"Why not? Has he texted you at all while he's been away?"

"Yes..., but it's only really been good morning and goodnight texts. He did respond to a message I sent making sure he was eating properly, even adding a video, but that's About it." Kanae looked at the other girl oddly.

"He sent you a video? Of... him eating right?" She verified.

"What? Yeah, of course. What else would he send me a video of?" Kyoko asked innocently. Kanae gave a dry look in response before letting out a sigh as she rolled her eyes. She was _so_ not explaining that.

"No, it's nothing. I'm just confused as to why he would send you a video of him eating."

"OH! That's because I had him do that before! Hmmm. I guess I can at least explain that once he was going to be on his own for several days, so I had him take videos of him eating his meals, because he could likely fake photos. It's... almost like a little inside joke at this point I think." She gave a little shrug before cringing as she realized what kind of action she had done. Had she really picked that habit up? When? Why, out of all the things she could have picked up from him, did it have to be that _stupid_ little gesture? Kanae gave her an odd look, but didn't bother to comment on it.

"I guess every strong couple has some weird thing they do. Taking videos of yourself eating sounds like the strangest I've heard yet though." She admits. Kyoko gave a little giggle and nodded in agreement. It might be a little weird, but she liked it. It was something between just the two of them. "It only makes sense to miss him, though. Don't worry about it so much. Also, the texts in the morning and at night are probably him wanting to text you but refraining from being too overbearing. He's showing that he's thinking about you, at the very least, or else he wouldn't even bother to send a text at all."

"I suppose that's true" Kyoko relents softly, fiddling with her hands a bit in uncertainty.

"So long as you aren't constantly pestering him or demanding to know what he's doing and who he's with at any given time, I think you're handling it pretty well. If it gets too bad, you can always go to his place. You said he gave you a key to his place." Kanae reminded her. Kyoko sighed and looked over to her bag with a light frown.

"I don't know. I feel like that would just make me feel even _more_ lonely. He won't be there. It'll be empty and dark and lonely."

"Which is why you asked to come here tonight." Kanae supplied, deciding to just set the magazine aside for now. Kyoko sighed heavily and flopped backwards onto the futon supplied to her when she spent the night.

"Yeah, you caught me. I just... didn't want to be alone, you know?"

"Not really. I prefer to be alone. Why do you think I have this place away from the rest of my family?" Kanae pointed out. Kyoko giggled and nodded. "In any case, I don't really know what to tell you. I don't date people seriously. I haven't had a relationship as deep as yours. The most I do is 'act' as a girlfriend for those jobs. There's no personal attachment there. I just know that girls like to wear their boyfriend's things when they're apart for long periods of time. Something about smelling them in the clothes or something." Kanae wrinkled her nose lightly at that thought. Wearing some man's smelly clothes didn't exactly sound appealing, but it was a common known thing that girls did. Guys..., well, she had heard of some weird things, though a vast majority of them seemed to be sexual in some way. Men just seemed to be perverts in most cases. It could range anywhere from jerking off to a photo, to sniffing a pair of panties as far as she knew. Great, now she had a mental picture of Ren sniffing Kyoko's panties. Thank you brain. Just what she always wanted!

Kyoko noticed her friend getting increasingly annoyed and decided to back off a bit, pulling back her script to read over. It was a little easier to focus now that she had gotten some things off her chest. Kanae surprised her by continuing the conversation, however.

"So, how was spending a full five nights over at his place in a row?" Kyoko looked up at Kanae, blinking owlishly for a moment before looking up and humming thoughtfully.

"It was pretty nice, I suppose..." she frowned and looked down unhappily, causing Kanae to wait patiently for the younger girl to continue, "Tsuruga-san... has a lot of nightmares. Almost every night he wakes up at least once, usually around two or three. Most of the time he'll grumble some vague response if I ask him about it, like that there were spiders or a snake, and then he'd go to the bathroom, come back to bed, and go back to sleep. It's like..., he's so used to getting terrible sleep that he just rolls with it now." Kyoko sighed and fell silent, fiddling with the ends of her nails. She didn't think she could really mention the fact that his responses were always in English, sometimes cursing his nightmares with less than pleasant English words. She also didn't really feel like it was her place to mention the one night, two days before he was supposed to leave, that he had reacted differently to his nightmares, clinging tightly to her as he apologized over and over, sometimes in words she didn't understand. She hadn't had the heart to question him what langue it might have been during the day. The most she had been able to do was sooth and hold him until he drifted back to sleep. If he recalled it at all, he didn't mention it in the morning. She was relieved to find that he always slept peacefully the second time each night, always quite refreshed and happy while they get ready for the day together.

"That's... interesting. I didn't peg Tsuruga-san to be the type that's afraid of creepy crawlies." Kanae ponders thoughtfully. Kyoko pouted lightly as she thought it over.

"I don't think he is. He deals with it fine in real life. He enjoys the outdoors a lot and never seems bothered by them. He doesn't even react to President-san's anaconda when he brings her to work. I think it's one of those things where the creatures represent something in your dreams, so you're afraid because of what they represent even if you aren't consciously aware of what those things are." Kanae hummed lightly and fiddled with her hair.

"I've heard of dream interpretation before, but I don't know if I really believe in that sort of thing. Dreams tend to be a bit too weird for me to see any real meaning to them." She waved the thought away flippantly and Kyoko let out a sigh as she stretched out on the floor, worrying over her boyfriend despite herself. Maybe Maria had some dream interpretation books she could look into. It seemed like the kind of thing she might have on hand. "So is that it? You don't have any other impressions from getting to spend so much time with him?" Kyoko blushed and fidgeted a bit.

"Well, he likes to do a small personal workout in the mornings. I've been trying to do little things like that too, and I think it's helped be prepare myself to take on each day. Also, I think it'll be good for my figure." she hedged lightly. Kanae rose an eyebrow with an unimpressed look.

"And your relationship...?" she prodded. Kyoko grew impossibly more red.

"I... kind of had to have a talk with him about treating me too softly..., and it seems I may be more tempting to him than I originally thought. He thinks we should wait at least until I'm eighteen before we consider well... sex." that was a bit surprising to Kanae, though it made sense once she really thought about it. Tsuruga Ren was a careful man, after all.

"Well, that's only about half a year away, though." she pointed out. Kyoko nodded her agreement.

"He said we should wait until then before we address it, so it's not like we're going to jump into it on my birthday or something." Kanae looked doubtful, but Kyoko ignored it. "In any case, we have plenty of other things we can do until then." the grin the pulled at her lips had Kanae sticking out her tongue and dramatically gagging in her disgust.

"Ew, you guys are so gross." she groaned, getting a pillow smacked in her face as a response. Kyoko giggled at the halfhearted scowl her best friend gave her, and then squealed as she was smacked with another pillow in retaliation. A pillow fight! She had started one of those coveted pillow fights of sisterhood! Happy day!

* * *

Kyoko managed to make it to day six before she caved and had Yashiro drop her off at Ren's instead of the Darumaya. The manager seemed shocked, and then _very_ excited, when he learned that Ren had given Kyoko a key to his place. She was able to smile it away, pushing her embarrassment down in favor of getting to the place that would still be holding remnants of his presence.

She felt the cold loneliness grip her as soon as she opened the door to the dark apartment, just as she knew it would. This felt just a little too close to coming home to the empty place she shared with Sho back then. She was surprised to feel herself relax once the light was switched on, however.

"This is definitely a different time and a different experience." she giggled to herself as she slipped off her shoes and went into the kitchen to whip up a simple meal for herself. She made a point to clean up after herself, maybe a bit more thoroughly then needed, and dinner was eaten with the television on. She smiled any time there was an advertisement with him in it, and she even watched an episode of Bridge Rock, though she felt a bit embarrassed to watch herself in the chicken suit.

It felt like time was stretching on longer than usual as she busied herself in her boyfriend's place. Dishes didn't take long enough, she couldn't seem to focus on reading her script, there wasn't a whole lot to do. She eventually decided to pull out one of her dolls of him, dressing it in sleep attire while daydreaming about him and how she had actually seen Japan's most desirable bachelor naked... and done things with him. She deliberately avoided the thought that not all of those things were new experiences with him, instead focusing on how he had wanted to be closer to her emotionally than he ever had with past girls. She was his longest relationship, as well as his first and only love. She had loved before, so she couldn't quite grant him that specialty, but she did feel that her feelings for him were a good deal stronger than she ever had with Sho. The things she felt for Ren, for Kuon and Corn, were strengthened by his reciprocation and encouragement. The love they held was held by both of them, making it worlds more sturdy and ever-holding than anything she held while chasing after a man that made no commitment or care.

Kyoko smiled and played with the hair on her Ren-doll as she laid in his over-sized bed. This was a place that only she was granted. She dreamed happily of his warm arms and smiles that night, wishing she could see him just a little sooner.

* * *

"He's coming home in two days, right?" Kanae mentioned as they sorted through papers in the Love-me room. Kyoko nodded lightly as she set another paper in its proper stack.

"Yeah, he says that work had been going well, but he's ready to get back already." the younger girl admits with a small smile. Kanae peeked over at her friend fondly, happy to see Kyoko so happy. The girl had been practically glowing all morning, and Kanae was one-hundred percent certain that it had to do with her spending the night at a certain boyfriend's place the night before. Quietly, she decided not to mention it, in case it might dim Kyoko's happy glow even a little.

"Wait, Kotonami-san knows about it?" Yashiro asked incredulously as he looked up from his planner. Kyoko cringed lightly and looked to her manager apologetically.

"She's... kind of known from the beginning." Kyoko admitted, not seeing the smug expression of superiority the older girl directed at the man. Yashiro pouted lightly and Kyoko hastily tried to reassure him. "Moko-san has always been my best friend, so I couldn't really keep it from her. Besides, she was the one that coached me in seducing Tsuruga-san in the first place!" she explains. Kanae sighed and rested her head in her hand as Yashiro took on the mannerisms of a goldfish, flapping his mouth in disbelief while gazing with wide eyes.

"You... seduce... wh-what? Who else knows?"

"No one else! I swear! You can't say anything to anyone, understood?" Kyoko enforced. Yashiro took two more minutes to comprehend this information before he straightened up and cleared his throat.

"Understood. You have my word." he says with a stiff nod. Kanae rolled her eyes, then jumped as the door banged open and a girl she hadn't seen before stomped in, wearing the love-me uniform and looking none too pleased with her current predicament. She froze and stared back at them, then looked to Yashiro and pinched her eyebrows in confusion as she looked him up and down. Dread settled into the first two love-me members as one flashy company president came striding in after her.

"Ah, Perfect! Kyoko, Kanae, I'd like to introduce you both to our newest love-me member. This here is Hasegawa Aika. She has a lot of potential as a singer and entertainer, but she's missing a good deal of understanding of that important emotion." He says with dramatic waves of his hand. Kanae looked very unimpressed as she looked over the kingly getup he was currently wearing. Kyoko slowly peeled her eyes away from the distracting president, looking to the new girl instead. She had dark-brown hair pulled back into what looked like a layered ponytail, though the front part of her hair was left loose to frame her face and light brown eyes in some layered bangs. Peaking out from behind the little strips of hair, she could see the girl had a number of piercings lining the edges of her ears, tempting Kyoko to count them but ultimately deciding it wasn't really the time. Miraculously, she didn't have any piercings on her face, but Kyoko did find herself wondering about the possibility of a tongue piercing. On her face was a heavy scowl, however. She did not look happy to be there one bit. "I see you three have work to do, but please let me hear your explanations of the love-me section to your new member!" The president requested cheerfully.

"We do the tedious work for other people because the president thinks that's what will help us to be loved." Kyoko answered honestly, hoping it was good enough to pass Lory's hopes without misleading the new girl.

"We're the stray dogs that fend for ourselves in this outrageous world run by a tyrant." Kanae practically hissed at the president, not even caring when he wilted into a pitiful and sad expression. She wasn't going to give the pathetic answer he wanted, so she might as well be up front.

"It's not _that_ bad." Chiori spoke as she entered the room with an empty bin. She must have finished putting away the papers they gave her a little while ago. Lory's sad face instantly perked up with hope, looking overly eager for what answer she may give. "We get the work that no one else wants to do, but it's pretty easy and people really do seem very grateful once you finish a task." she explains. "I'm Amamiya Chiori. You must be the new girl I heard about in the halls." she says, putting the bin next to Kyoko's side of the table. Aika crossed her arms defiantly.

"This is ridiculous. I can just go to some other company to publish my albums, one that doesn't have such ridiculous requirements." she ground out. The love-me members all expected Lory to wilt like a kicked puppy, but he surprisingly brushed the harsh comments aside.

"You came to LME for a reason, Aika-chan. Even if you won't tell me what that reason is, I know it's there. Now then, I'll let you get settled in. Seeing as the other three love-me members are here, you're in good hands. Have fu~n!" he called as he slipped out of the room. Kyoko watched him go, quietly wondering how a person like that had been able to help Kuon out of whatever situation he had been in. If it were her in a dark place, she would never have followed some eccentric man like that. She supposed he could be serious at times, but everything was always largely focused on love. Maybe she could ask Kuon what compelled him to follow when he got around to talking about that part of his life.

.

* * *

Kuon scratched his head thoughtfully as he stood next to his bed. It was still early in the morning, his plane having arrived way before the sun, and he had been excited upon seeing Kyoko's shoes and bag upon entering his flat. This, however, baffled him completely. She was hugging some doll that looked suspiciously like his Tsuruga Ren half as she slept. That alone was a bit baffling, but then there was the presence of another anomaly; a green bullet-like object on the bedside table next to her. Ren didn't have a whole lot of personal experience with sexual toys, but it wasn't difficult to figure out what the odd little piece was.

His green eyes slid back to the girl as he pondered over what kind of things she had been doing last night, and in his bed at that. With a smile and a sigh, he shook his head and left her sleeping as he headed over to have a quick shower and change of clothes. There was something about being on a plane, even in first class where it was significantly less crowded and provided extra luxuries, that just left him feeling a bit grimy, stiff, and unpleasant. He worried a bit that he might wake her with the noise of the shower and such, but was relieved to find her still fast asleep when he exited. Quietly, he dressed in a clean pair of jeans and a comfortable shirt before slipping onto the bed, settling over the covers next to her as he smiled and gently pet her. She let out a little sigh in her sleep and nuzzled into his touch happily, making his heart soar within his chest.

"How did I get the most perfect young woman?" he pondered softly, kissing the top of her head. She shifted and snuggled up more to him and he quietly noted that she was wearing a shirt too large for her petite frame. It took him a moment longer to realize that is was one of his own shirts. Kuon stifled his laughter and wrapped his arm around her form, pleased when she reached out from the covers to cling to his shirt. He had certainly missed this while he was away.

.

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* * *

 _Thank you, as always, to the comments, favorites, and follows on this story._  
 _Thank you as well for the congratulations on my marriage. I'm currently trying to find the right balance of doting and spoiling my wife, but I'm certainly enjoying it thus far._

 _I could go through and thank every person who commented on the last chapter specifically, but I'm a bit too excited about getting back to writing the next chapter (already half way done) and I'm sure you all would prefer to get a new chapter over a tiny recognition anyway. Instead, I'll just answer whatever questions were asked of me._

 _Let me see here..._

 _Jenndifurry- oops. Yeah, I try to go over my work a couple times before publishing, but some spelling mistakes still occasionally slip through the cracks. I hope it didn't jar you too much to enjoy the chapter as a whole._

 _Kaname671 and Puffinzero- I'm glad you enjoyed it. I debated with myself on how Ren and Kyoko would react to different things, and it turned out like that somehow. *shrugs* I'm actually really excited about the date that I've been writing up, even re-reading over things more often than usual as I try to get it just right. I don't want to give away too much, but this IS their official first date. Ren is going to want to do something special since he has an opportunity. I don't think I've ever seen anyone else write out this idea, but either way, I think it's perfect for the both of them to do together. You'll see. I don't think you'll be disappointed. ;)_

 _EchizenRyoma- this is actually something I've been uncertain about bringing up yet. There's definitely no way Sho would keep to himself. He likes to pester Kyoko too much on a regular basis. There was a subtle hint that Ren and Yashiro have been keeping Kyoko more protected due to the last time, but they won't be able to flawlessly shield her forever, obviously. I also would like them to have a "Happily ever after" but relationships will always have a bit of struggle in them, no matter how long (my sweety and I have been together for ten years and still drive one another crazy sometimes). That's part of what this story is about, but it's also about working through those things and how being honest and upfront in your relationship can make it easier to overcome those obstacles. Kyoko and Ren are both going to have to learn through those incoming instances. I'm sure it will be an enjoyable read, though, so do stick around._

 _Erza Tsuruga- hmmm... I don't want to come off as too aggressive here, but I have stated already that I prefer to be honest. I specifically stated in my last chapter that I was NOT offended. I explained my views on the matter to help give perspective. I don't care what people speculate about my physical form. I DO care about people insisting that I feel a certain way when I have already stated otherwise. I have nothing to gain from lying about my feelings. I've dealt with an older sister for years who would insist that I'm feeling angry/upset/unhappy/etc when I had already explained that it wasn't so. I don't like it. Please refrain from insisting I feel a certain way, and I will be perfectly happy._  
 _On a brighter note, thank you for getting back to me on the possible OOC actions of Ren. I'm glad it didn't feel so off that the story seemed inadequate, and I hope future chapters are satisfactory for all characters involved._

 _Hairy Friend- thank you for your comments along the chapters. I can feel your excitement just from reading your comment, and it brings a smile to my face every time._  
 _This project has honestly turned out better than I expected. It was originally just a silly little idea I came up with to show a better side of Kanae than usually gets portrayed in fanfictions. She's a jealous and territorial friend, but she's also logical and supportive. She obviously knows Ren has some kind of interest in Kyoko, and I really think it's likely she believes the example Kyoko gave during the latest arch was about Kyoko and Ren being interested in one another with Chiori being the outsider. That being said, I think her reply was meant to be her subtle way of saying she supports Kyoko, and I think she would be confused to no end if she found out the true thoughts behind Kyoko's little example. I really like Kanae. I think she has a lot of growth to undergo, but she's a great character, and I think she's an important friend for Kyoko._

 _._

 _This time, the date really IS in the upcoming chapter. ;) See you soon._


	8. Chapter 8

_Here we are. I'm working a few graveyard shifts this week, so it's been a bit tough to get things finished, even with having so much of it written beforehand. There's also a number of things going on in my immediate family, so I won't promise to have the next chapter out by a certain date or anything. I'll spare you the details._

 _I keep finding myself worrying over if I'm starting to bore you readers. This is a mature-rated story, yet I'm keeping it from being overly fast-paced and self-indulgent, as I know a lot of people search for these days._  
 _From the things I've read on this sight over the years, a lot of mature fanfictions and erotica are like reading porn. That's fine I suppose, but after so many years of it, one starts to thirst for something with more story and development. I'm sorry if this hasn't been very satisfactory for your carnal desires. I know it's a slow progression, but this feels more right than having Kuon and Kyoko become little sex maniacs, as fun as that is to imagine._

 _IDK, maybe I'm worrying pointlessly and no one truly cares. I just thought I would give a little explanation for why I've progressed it the way I have thus far. Feel free to let me know if it starts to feel like it's lacking, though. It's easy for a writer to get unbalanced, and I strive to make something that plenty others can enjoy reading. I won't know if people think it should have more smut unless I'm told as much, though._

 _Now then, here is the first OFFICIAL FIRST DATE that I promised you all. I hope you enjoy it._

* * *

Kuon leaned against the counter as he watched Kyoko cook, a hot mug of coffee in his hand as he enjoyed the peaceful morning with her. The young woman stayed quiet as she worked, a heavy pout on her warm face. The morning had been humiliating, full of her panicking as Kuon watched her in amusement and pointed out the embarrassing things he saw. It wasn't fair. He wasn't scheduled to come back home until somewhere between the afternoon and that night!

"You're eating while I'm at work today." she grumbled out as she turned off the stove.

"Yes ma'am." Kuon said, though he was still holding that annoying smirk as his eyes stared into her wreathing soul. She did her best to hide her shame by glaring up at him.

"Would you stop looking at me like that?" The amusement in his eyes only seemed to double as he grinned down at her.

"Like what?" he asked with false innocence. Kyoko huffed and shoved his breakfast at him before marching over to the table and sitting down to eat quickly. "Aw, don't be like that, Kyoko. I enjoyed it, really. Can't you let me enjoy life a bit?"

"Not at my expense!" she snapped at him before shoving a bite of food in her mouth. Ren pouted and sat at the other end of the table, poking at his food pitifully.

"It's only at your expense because I wouldn't enjoy it if it was someone else." he grumbled like a child. Kyoko glanced over at him unhappily, then released a sigh of acceptance as she saw his pitiful pout. She wouldn't stop feeling embarrassed over being caught with that doll _and_ her vibrator, but she supposed it was better for him to enjoy it rather than be disgusted with her.

"Fine, I guess it wasn't _so_ bad." she relented. Ren's head shot up as he stared at her with shock, and then shifted into delight before he finally put an acceptable bite of food into his mouth. Kyoko smiled and rolled her eyes fondly before finishing up her meal. "I guess this means you have a free day, then. I'll be back at six tonight and make dinner. You better eat lunch at a reasonable hour. I don't want to come home and you haven't eaten all day. Even if you wait too late to eat lunch, rushing to get something before I come home, I'll still force you to eat whatever I make for dinner. Understood?" she glared at him threateningly. Kuon smiled and rested his elbow on the table before propping his his chin on his hand as he gazed at her.

"Understood. I'll be sure to eat at least three hours before you're expected home." he says, his grin widening. Kyoko looked confused at his expression for a moment before she paled, then blushed brightly.

"I didn't mean to call your place-"

"Kyoko, I'm more than happy to let you call my place home." he cut her off before she could take back her words. She looked down at her lap and fiddled with her hands lightly, then gave a timid little nod.

"Okay... thank you. I... I'm not moving in or anything, but... I guess I could call this my other home?" she glanced back up at him and he beamed at her happily.

"I would love that..." Before he could say anything else, Kyoko's phone chimed and she picked it up, reading the message quickly. "Yukihito?" he guessed, getting a nod in response.

"He'll be here in roughly twenty minutes. I'm going to guess I shouldn't tell him you're home yet?" She asks, putting her phone back down and finishing up the rest of her food quickly. Kuon thought about that for a moment before giving a small shrug.

"Honestly, I don't think I would mind it. I still don't want to go out and tell people who I am just yet, but I think I'll be okay if he starts figuring things out on his own. I'd like it if you kept from giving him extra hints, though." Kyoko nodded her understanding and got up with her plate only for him to grab her ankle. "Leave the dishes to me while you get ready. I have the extra time, right?" he reminds her. Kyoko looked like she wanted object, but then she softly relented and set her plate down before heading to his bathroom. Kuon quietly smiled as he noticed she hadn't needed to pull anything out of her bag. She already had everything she needed for daily life put away in his place.

She emerged only a few minutes later, hair brushed and parted properly, face squeaky clean, and clothes properly set on her slim figure. Kuon smiled and took a moment to glance over her form before he nodded his approval. She may still be a teen, but she's growing into a fine woman. Yashiro had been right that girl mature quickly, especially in the entertainment industry.

"I eagerly await your return home." he said softly, cupping her chin before leaning down and giving a loving peck on her lips. Kyoko hummed lightly and leaned into it, pulling away with a soft blush and a happy little smile. _'Beautiful.'_ he thinks quietly as she turned and headed out. He watched her butt as she leaned down to get her shoes on, then made sure she had her bag, keys, and phone as he let her out. "See you at six." he said. Kyoko smiled and reached up, hooking her hand behind his neck to pull him down for one last kiss. She smirked at the happily surprised look on his face as she pulled away.

"See you at six... I... I love you." she said before running off with a cute red face. Kuon watched her go with a fond smile.

She was buckled into her seat of Yashiro's car when her phone dinged.

 _ **Corn: 'Love you too, beautiful. Have a good day at work. ^x^'**_

She blushed all over again as she closed the phone and tucked it away, a small giggle escaping her lips. Was that supposed to be a kissy face? Really, why was he so bad at emoticons when he had been the one to insist upon them? Was it because he was american?

"From the look on your face, that must be Ren. He's still texting you good morning every day?" Yashiro guessed, looking delighted for her. Kyoko giggled lightly and looked out the window as she watched the building disappear when they turned a corner.

"Yeah, he likes to be the first person to greet me in the mornings." she says, smiling secretly.

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* * *

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.

Kyoko couldn't stop staring at Kuon as they rode the taxi to the location he had picked. The look of shock the driver had shown when the blond foreigner had smoothly spoken the desired location instead of Kyoko had been amusing, but she couldn't exactly blame the older looking man. Kuon looked every bit like the kind of person she would occasionally see wandering aimlessly in the streets, obviously lost and confused in an unknown land. Instead, the supposed not-fairy seemed perfectly at home. Kuon glanced over at her from the corner of his beautiful green eyes, a smirk pulling at his lips as he obviously caught her staring.

" **Enjoying the view?** " He asked in soft English. Kyoko took a moment to understand, then blushed brightly and looked away from him, staring out her window instead.

" **I enjoy pretty things**." She grumbled defiantly back. She heard a strange sound and peaked back at him, her own smirk appearing as she saw him looking away with his fist covering his mouth. He cleared his throat a couple times to cover it up, but she wouldn't be fooled. She had effectively thrown him for a loop with that comment. " **What's the matter Corn? You can dish it out but you can't take it?** " She asked cheekily, her grin widening as he looked over to her with a slight pout.

" **Not from you, I can't**." Kyoko snapped her mouth shut and pouted through her own blush as she stared at him, a tiny smile pulling at his lips as he watched his words effect her.

"You win this time." She huffed and looked away, ignoring the soft chuckle the man emitted behind her back. Looking down at her lap, she frowned lightly in uncertainty. This was their first official date, and yet he had insisted that she not wear any of her nicer clothes. She was told to wear some comfortable jeans and shirt, and he took her to the store to buy some low-healed boots before they set out. She had tried to object, and to even pay for them herself, but Kuon was a master manipulator with those damn puppy eyes and she had been suckered into letting him pay. She wiggled her feet lightly, tapping the toes together occasionally as Kuon quietly watched her with a fond smile.

She wasn't sure what to make of the wide open field she was faced with as they got out of the taxi, Kuon handing over the bills and thanking a still very astonished driver. Kyoko wondered if the elderly man believed himself in the presence of an angel. She wouldn't blame him. Kuon was indeed very beautiful and amazing.

They made their way to a fenced off area, and recognition dawned in Kyoko's eyes. Horses! He brought her to see the majestic beings known as horses! Her head whipped over to look at him with delight, catching the fond smile he was directing at her.

"Do I get to pet them?" She asked breathlessly, tripping over her own feet slightly as she was bombarded with her excitement and that heavenly smile all at once. Kuon laughed and nodded twice.

"More than that, Kyoko. We're going to be riding them." Her eyes bugged and her jaw dropped as her head snapped back in the direction of the stables and corral.

"R-riding?" Her voice pitched upward as she clasped her hands firmly in front of her chest. It was both enthralling and terrifying. These were powerful creatures, meant to be handled with dignity and caution. She would have to worry over insulting them, or handling it wrong and getting thrown off, or hurting it if she directed it poorly...! The sheer amount of things that could go wrong! She startled as she felt Kuon's large hand press gently at the small of her back as he urged her onward.

"Don't worry, you won't just be placed on a horse and then set free. I figured that you hadn't ever ridden one before but would enjoy the experience, so we'll start with a lesson on riding, and then you can decide if you want to ride together or separately. We'll go at your pace." He assured her. Kyoko looked up at him owlishly, assaulted once again by his heavenly smile as she took in his words.

Her pace. He's said that a few times to her now. Pursuing her lips together in thought, she stared at him for a moment before grabbing his hand -a look of delightful surprise flicked across his face- before she started tugging him eagerly toward he stables.

"Well what are we waiting for? Let's go!" She says eagerly. When she heard the lighthearted chuckle from him this time, she couldn't stop her own smile.

The riding lessons quickly brought understanding for their attire. The attendant seemed pleased as he complimented the fact that they were wearing suitable attire so that their legs wouldn't chafe and the boots would sit properly in the stirrups. She felt her body tense up in anticipation as she saw a freely roaming horse come over to sniff at Kuon, the blond calmly reaching out to let it examine him. It's ears twitched about, and then it raised it's head and turned an eye to stare at her directly. Kuon followed it's gaze, turning to look at her curiously before understanding showed on his face.

"Calm down Kyoko. Horses are sensitive to their surroundings. If you act nervous or frightened, they'll feed off that energy and become restless themselves." he explains as the instructor nodded his agreement next to her.

"Right you are, sir. You have experience riding already then?" he asked. Kuon smiled lightly as he deemed it safe to reach up and gently pet the friendly horse's jaw.

"A bit. I spent a lot of time with animals when I was younger. It's been a while, though." he explained vaguely. Kyoko watched how naturally the horse accepted Kuon, feeling just a bit jealous. There was no way he didn't have at least a _little_ fairy blood in him. He was probably just unaware of some past ancestor or something.

"Now then," the instructor started up again, "your friend there has already assured the mare. Go ahead and approach, careful but confident, and on her left side. Let her get used to you, and then you can try and see if she'll let you pet her." Kyoko nodded her understanding and did as she was told, walking over slowly. The horse, a mare apparently, twitched her ear toward the approaching footsteps and raised her head again to stare at Kyoko. One hoof lifted and gave a soft step away, causing Kyoko to pause.

"Easy." Kuon eased, petting the mare gently. One ear twitched toward him while the other and its eye stayed trained on Kyoko. "Come on Kyoko, I'll make sure you're both safe." reassured by his words, Kyoko walked closer with a bit more certainty, noticing that the horse didn't budge away this time. She reached out nervously, watching as the horse's nostrils flared as it sniffed her. Slowly, she reached closer, and then a thrill went through her as her hand came into contact with the soft pelt. She looked to Kuon excitedly, finding him smiling down at her. "See?" he chuckled out. Kyoko looked back to the horse and began running her hand over the neck, slowly growing more and more comfortable with the creature.

"They're a lot bigger than I expected." she observes, her eyes trailing down the creature's back. The top of it's back was above her eye level. Even Kuon didn't look all that tall while standing next to it. He chuckled lightly as he continued to smooth his hand comfortingly on the horse's neck with her.

"This is a full grown horse, after all. Don't worry, it doesn't seem quite as intimidating once you get on." he assured her. Kyoko nodded and followed as he lead her back over to the instructor. The man laughed lightly as Kuon fond himself being followed by the mare.

"She's grown quite fond of you two, I see. Maybe I should have you come help with the younger ones some time. If you were a citizen of Japan, I'd ask if you were looking for a job." the instructor laughed good-naturedly. The blond simply smiled as he glanced down at Kyoko, the two of them sharing a private little joke.

"Even if you asked, I would have to turn you down. I work in a very different field. Thank you for saying so, though." he said. The man laughed and waved it away before starting to explain the basics of mounting and riding. Kuon had to keep pushing the mare's nose away gently throughout, but it was really only a recap for him so he didn't mind too much.

When it came to mounting the horses, Kyoko watched with a bit of envy as Kuon easily fit his foot into the stirrup and swung up onto the saddle, settling in and sitting up straight. He truly looked like some prince as the sun glinted off his blond hair and his green eyes shone down brightly at her. Kyoko almost wanted to try and mount her own horse without assistance, just to prove she could do what he had, but one look at the mighty creature and she decided it was best to take things one step at a time. It helped that the instructor told her that plenty of riders used a mounting block even with years of experience. Her "foreign friend" simply had an advantage of height, experience, and well-developed muscles that allowed him to do it so naturally.

"You wouldn't happen to be from the U.S. would you? They have lots of cowboys there, right?" the man asked as he stood by Kyoko's horse while she mounted it. Kuon chuckled lightly, the sound causing his own horse's ears to twitch backward toward him curiously.

"I'm from the states, but I lived in the city; not a lot of flat land and grassy fields there to raise horses, and much too loud in LA." he explains. The instructor's eyes widened at that.

"L.A.? As in Hollywood? Are you a celebrity perhaps?" Kuon's smile fell before he scratched the back of his head lightly as he looked away.

"My father is well known I suppose, but I've been... out of public eye for a number of years now. I like having the freedom to do things without having people question me constantly." the instructor fumbled a bit before hastily agreeing.

"Of course, of course, I won't bother you about it further. My apologies for intruding." he cleared his throat then, obviously worried about offending the man and wanting to move on. "Now then, let's get to riding, shall we?" he made sure Kyoko and Kuon were securely in their saddles before continuing. "Getting a horse to move is fairly simple. You don't need to jerk the reins too much for them to feel it. A lot of kids think you need to whip the reins to get a horse to go, but just squeezing the sides gently with your thighs should be enough, or you can lightly tap it with your heals. They're big, but sensitive. You don't need to be overly aggressive with them." he explained with a bit of warning in his voice. He had already gone over it a moment ago, but it seemed he wanted to make sure everything stayed safe, elaborating a bit more this time around. Kuon's stallion was soon walking calmly around the circle, and then Kyoko followed suit. She couldn't hold back the large grin on her face.

"Kuon! I'm doing it!" she gasped happily. Kuon laughed lightly as he agreed that she was doing well. She did take a moment to figure out how to steer properly, but soon she was moving just as smoothly, following Kuon's instruction to sit deeply in the saddle and let the movement of the horse flow through her hips so she wasn't bobbing around like some sack of potatoes. When the offer to let them ride freely in the bigger field, they were asked if they wanted to ride together. The thought of sharing a horse with Kuon like a princess being escorted by a prince was tempting... but she was enjoying learning to control her own horse so she declined. Kuon didn't seem bothered by it at all, simply laughing and leading the way. She grinned and laughed as they rode around the field, sometimes speeding up into a canter or slowing to a trot. When it came time to return, Kyoko was a bit sad for it to end but already knew she couldn't keep riding the poor creature all day.

They cooled down by walking leisurely a bit, then headed back to the instructor at that leisurely pace. Kyoko pat her horse lovingly as they came to a gentle stop, a bit proud of herself when the instructor praised them both for their smooth and careful way of handling the horses.

"Would you like a picture on your horses?" the man offered. Kuon looked to Kyoko thoughtfully as she perked up at the idea of having a commemorative photo of this day.

"Would it be alright for us to sit together on one of the horses for the photo?" Kuon requests. The instructor happily agreed and helped Kyoko dismount her horse, letting her steady her surprisingly wobbly legs before helping her up onto Kuon's. A young woman rider was called over, the girl looking at Kyoko and Kuon with wonder in her eyes. The two celebrities didn't mind it as they got ready. Kyoko was grinning happily at the camera from her spot in front of Kuon, and then he tapped her hand to get her attention. She looked to him curiously and he kissed her forehead, causing her to blush prettily as the camera's shutter sounded. He grinned proudly at her reaction and they heard the camera go off again. A few more pictures were taken by the girl as Kuon naturally posed, clearly used to this kind of thing as he kissed her hand and gazed into her eyes. Kyoko pouted lightly.

"This isn't one of your photo shoots, Kuon." she grumbled with light annoyance at his antics, causing him to laugh merrily. She was finally allowed back down with a bit of help before Kuon slid off, smoothly as ever. The instructor lead the horses to the water trough while the girl went off to quickly get the pictures printed out for them, passing two other riders who quickly followed after her, eagerly asking her questions about the visitors. Kuon and Kyoko's instructor shook his head with a sigh as he returned.

"Sorry about them, sir. Teens are so easily excited, and we rarely get visitors let alone foreigners." he explains, handing them a couple of water bottles. Kuon shook his head lightly as they accepted their drinks.

"It's quite alright. We're already used to this kind of thing." he explains, watching the man relax and nod with relief.

They ate lunch at a restaurant that wasn't too far, then had a taxi called. Kyoko smiled as they rode back to the city, pulling the pictures out of their envelope and looking over them again and again. She was also supposed to get digital copies sent to her email, Kuon's being unavailable as it would expose his connection with 'Tsuruga Ren'.

"We can get an album to put them in, if you want." he suggested. Kyoko smiled and nodded with excitement, instructing the taxi driver of where she would like to stop. Kuon was happy to let her do as she pleased, paying the fee as they got out and headed into a store. The attendant there seemed to recognize Kyoko, startling slightly as she spotted a tall foreigner behind the regular customer. Kuon gave a polite bow as he smiled and followed after his excitedly bouncing girlfriend. She tugged him through the isles as she picked out the materials she needed, bringing them over to the front. Kuon tried to offer to pay again, but she glared and smacked his hand when he tried to open his wallet. He pouted his puppy eyes at her, but she turned away when she anticipated that move, promptly paying for her things. Kuon pouted, and she ignored it, walking out and trusting him to follow.

"With this, we can put pictures from our dates and memorable moments together!" she says happily, looking down at the folder of pictures and the new scrap book happily.

* * *

Kuon watched as Kyoko twisted her body in a light stretch for the third time in the past ten minutes they were walking back toward his place. It wasn't much further.

"Are your muscles feeling sore?" He asked knowingly. She looked up at him with surprise and he nodded his understanding. "People think Horseback riding is simple and easy, but it actually takes a lot of muscle to ride properly. You did amazingly well for a beginner, but the muscles you used today are definitely not used very often in daily life. Your legs will probably be easier than most due to how you ride your bike, but there's still a lot of differences." he explains. Kyoko's mouth opened into a little 'o' as she started to understand.

"I see, that makes sense. You're already used to it even though it's been a while though?" she observes. Kuon hummed and tilted his head thoughtfully.

"It was like a small workout for me. I do go to the gym occasionally, and there are some machines that work out those muscles, so it was easy to transition into using them for something functional." She nodded as she took in the information.

"Maybe I can join you at the gym some times? I've been mimicking your mini workouts that you do at home in the mornings."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, it really helps one get ready for the day!" she says excitedly. Kuon chuckled and ruffled her hair affectionately before she bat away his hands and tried to fix it again with a pout.

"Do you want me to give you a massage before we head out for dinner?" he offers. Kyoko looked up at him with shock.

"Dinner? You... you're remembering your meals properly? Wait... massage..., and... we're going out again? I thought the date was done!" She exclaimed. Kuon laughed at how dramatic she could be, opening the door to the apartment building and leading her up.

"We still have plenty of time in the day, and I'm not going to change back until midnight." he jokes with a wink. Kyoko huffed lightly at his little magic reference. He never seemed to grow tired of teasing her about that.

"Fine, I guess I'll let you sooth my burdens." she huffs with a raise of her nose. Kuon grinned lightly as he thought of just how many 'burdens' he could sooth.

"Of course, princess." she blushed cutely and shuffled inside as soon as he got the door open.

.

It turned out that Kuon was very good at massaging sore muscles. Kyoko couldn't hold back her moans as his nimble fingers gently rolled into her back and thighs.

"How are you so go~od at this?" she moaned out. Kuon's eyebrow twitched at the sound. He was enjoying the sounds she was emitting, but they were also torturing him slowly.

"My mother would often ask me to help her sooth her feet and back. Dad would usually take care of it, but there were lots of times when he was away for work." he explained, rolling the heels of his hands up the back of her thighs and onto her but, rolling the cheeks slowly. Kyoko blushed at the feeling of his hands on her before frowning.

"You didn't do this, did you?" she asked suspiciously. Kuon coughed and paused before shaking his head quickly.

"Yeah no, don't insinuate stuff like that. Father was the only one allowed to touch my mother like that, and I had no desire to. I just help with her feet and shoulders because those were her biggest stress points from work." he explained. Really, how could she even suggest something like that? He moved upward and pressed his thumbs into her lower back, drawing out a deep moan from the girl.

"Sorry, I just had to make sure. Is your mother the woman you were talking about when you were teaching me to walk like a model?"

"Yeah, I watched her runway shows a lot as a kid, not to mention growing up in an environment where I was surrounded by that kind of thing. A lot of the things I know now are from watching others. With such a busy world, it was really the only way you could keep your head above water."

"Your parents didn't teach you?" Kyoko asked, a bit surprised. Kuon's hands paused on her back and she shifted her head so she could peek back at him curiously. He had a far off look in his eyes as he stared down at his hands on her, his smile gone.

"My parents were very busy people. I couldn't bother them with silly things like my struggles." he closed his eyes and shook his head before continuing to roll his hands over her back and shoulders. She was too focused on his expression now, though.

"I'm sure they would have wanted you to come to them for help, though." she spoke softly. He paused again and his eyes flicked up to connect with hers quietly. "I haven't gotten to meet your mother yet, but you... I could tell father loves you very deeply, and that he would have rushed to your aid at the bat of an eye." Kuon smiled softly down at her, a hint of pain in those magical green eyes.

"I don't doubt it, but that likely would have made things worse, you know." Confused, her eyebrows pinched together and she sat up to face him, causing his hands to slide away.

"What do you mean? How would a child getting help from his parents make things worse?" Kids were expected to ask their parents for help. She was always jealous of the other kids that could go running to their parents as soon as they got hurt or distressed. Kuon gave a light smile as he reached out and cradled her cheek lightly.

"This is part of the reason I love you. It doesn't matter where a person is, they're all held to the same standard for you." She only looked more confused at that and he sighed as he fiddled with a strand of her hair, still a bit damp from the shower they had upon returning home. "I was belittled a lot for who my parents were, mocked for my mixed race, called a mutant and a monster, and most of all, any work I did was said to be the credit and influence of my parents. If I did something even remotely praiseworthy, it was because I had my parents' name and ability to fall back on. If I couldn't reach some expectation for being my parents' child, I was simply a failure. That's why, I felt I couldn't go to them for help no matter what. Not only were they busy and I worried about troubling them, but I wanted to be able to stand on my own to feet."

"You wanted to fly by your own strength." Kyoko echoed with realization. Kuon's eyes rose to meet hers and a weak smile pulled at his lips.

"Exactly." he affirmed softly. Kyoko's eyes watered as she reached out to him and cradled his jaw.

"So..., when you said father's hands were too big and your wings would tear, it was because people would rip your accomplishments from you." He nodded silently as he held one of her hands and turned his head to kiss her palm as tears streamed down her cheeks, feeling his pain deep in her chest. "I see..., but... you made it out of that situation... because of the president?" she asked, and then perked up with newfound excitement "You said before, when I was talking to you about Corn, that he's able to properly fly!" she exclaimed..., and then her smile fell as she saw the pained smile on his face. "Kuon?" The man sighed and looked down at his hands.

"I've appeared before you as 'Corn' again, so I should really finish telling you everything." His right hand came over to cover the motionless face of his watch. Kyoko's eyes widened in realization and understanding, surging forward to place her hands on top of his own.

"You don't need to, Kuon! You can tell me when you feel ready. You don't need to push yourself!" She claimed. Kuon let out a hallow laugh at her energy, shaking his head lightly.

"This is one of those difficult tasks that I need to do, Kyoko. If I push it off now, I'll fall into an endless habit of pushing it off over and over. I need to tell you. I need to tell you before I return to my life as 'Tsuruga Ren'." His voice was soft, and yet his words rung in her ears. She looked down at his hands worriedly, feeling the barely noticeable quivering beneath her palm. He needed to do this, or at least that't what he believed. Steeling her nerves, and pushed his arms apart and shifted into his lap, looping her arms around his neck. Kuon stared at her with surprise and she smiled in turn.

"Then, if you insist on telling me, you have to let me sit here. I'm not going anywhere, not today. We don't have to go out again for dinner, even. I can make something here." she suggests. Kuon chuckled lightly and shook his head as he held her head against his shoulder.

"We'll see how we're both feeling after this." he agrees softly. He took a deep breath and looked up as he hugged her a little more firmly to him, the slick material of the lightweight dress she had changed feeling comforting under his hands. "I... eventually took the aggression of the people around me and threw it back at them. I grew reckless and aggressive; getting into fights, going to parties, smoking, drinking, running around at odd hours of the night, jumping from buildings-"

"Jumping from buildings?" Kyoko cut him off with a screech. Kuon looked down at her with a raised eyebrow and she snapped her mouth shut as her cheeks warmed. "Sorry."

"I'm a little surprised _that_ is the thing that set you off."

"Well... you said you were jumping from _buildings_! Did you... how did... are your bones made of steel or something?" she asked incredulously. Kuon laughed lightly, feeling his mood lift a bit at her exclamations.

"It was popular for a good while, actually."

"Popular? Are Americans indestructible?" he started shaking with laughter now. "What?" she whined.

"Sorry, no. It was this thing called parkour. You use momentum, trajectory, and energy transfer to get over various obstacles in your path. Some of the more extreme types would go high up and jump from rooftop to rooftop. It was mostly about adrenaline, but a good bit of it was about showing off how far you could go or how high you could flip."

"Like how Corn flew for me!" she gasped in recognition. Kuon nodded with a soft chuckle.

"That was before I got into it actually. There's a lot of elements from gymnastics and fighting styles that can be incorporated into it. The point is, I did dangerous stuff like that. I didn't have any worry or care for my well-being, indulging in all kinds of things that I'm not proud to admit to. A lot of things were addictive and self-destructive. I didn't care that I was destroying myself from the inside out. I thought it was fine, seeing as I felt a pain from deep within anyway." He held her tightly as he hung his head to rest on her shoulder. "I never even considered the possibility that my actions would cost the life another." he said it softly, muffled against her shoulder, but he knew she heard him based off the way her body stiffened. She had suspected of course. He had reacted so strongly to being called 'murderer' back during Tragic Marker. He had reacted to her yelling at him not to kill the thug during their act as the Heel siblings...

"You hit someone with a car?" she asked softly. Kuon was silent for a long moment before he slowly raised up with a sigh, his arms loosening around her a bit.

"I might as well have. If I hadn't been there, picking fights, throwing a fit and chasing down some thugs, my only friend wouldn't have been in that place. He told me to stop, to let things go, but I just wanted to beat someone up." He dropped one arm from around her, looking down at his hand. "He was hit by a car because I couldn't control myself. He lost his life because he was chasing after me. I took... _everything_ from him. He had a promising future, a woman that loved him, was starting to get a foothold in the industry, and I brought it all to an end in an instant. Tina..., that was her name. She loved him so deeply, just as any good woman should. I still remember her cries as she held his broken body. I... am a murder Kyoko. I'm a horrible monster, and I should never have been allowed to touch you with these bloodied hands. I hate myself more every time I touch you, and yet I cling to you just to breath. It feels like I'm constantly drowning." He stared at the frozen watch silently as Kyoko absorbed his words. Pursing her lips, she wanted to tell him it wasn't true, he wasn't a monster or a murderer, but she could already tell that the words would fall on deaf ears.

If what Kuon said was true, this person really wouldn't have been in the wrong place if Kuon hadn't been there. Even if he hadn't been the one driving the car, he had been a factor in the man's death. She reached up and threaded her fingers through his silky hair, smiling softly as he raised his head to look at her. Her golden eyes flicked about his drained expression, taking it the tortured look in his eyes and she let out a soft sigh as she slicked his hair back from his forehead. She wanted to say something to sooth him, reassure him, but nothing felt right so she just pet him. Slowly, graciously, his face relaxed and his eyes slid closed as he leaned into her touch. She leaned forward and kissed his forehead, smoothing his hair away from the spot again and again. When she pulled away again, she saw a small smile pulling at his lips and her own heart felt the strain finally release. Finally, the words came to her.

"Even so, I am with you." she spoke softly. His eyes opened to look up at her again, watering lightly as he reached up and guided her face closer. His lips pressed against hers in a long but firm kiss.

Breaking apart, a whispered "Thank you, Kyoko." left his lips.

* * *

She wasn't expecting him to insist on them going out to eat after their talk. She was so sure that he would want to stay inside and hide from the world. She would have wanted to. However, Kuon claimed he wanted the fresh air and that he also didn't want her cooking on their first official date.

They went to a small but elegant restaurant for lunch, soft music playing as people dined peacefully. He was quiet, but the suffering in his gaze was gone. Quietly, she recognized how hie behavior was similar to their time in Guam, after she had 'released the curse' set upon him. She chewed her lip as she thought about it, only to startle when he called her name.

"You don't usually leave anything on your plate. Are you sure that you're okay?" He asked worriedly. Kyoko shook her head quickly.

"I'm fine, really. I was just... thinking... remembering things." Kuon stayed silent, raising his eyebrows curiously at her as an encouragement to continue. Kyoko sighed lightly as she resigned herself to her fate. "The... true love's kiss... in Guam. Did it really help you?" she could see his grin forming a mile away, pouting as it spread fully across his face.

"If I say yes, will you kiss me again?" She huffed and rolled her eyes as she crossed her arms.

"We've already kissed plenty of times... and then some." she grumbled under her breath so no one else would hear but him. His grin seemed to stretch to impossible proportions, crinkling the corners of his eyes as he shone brighter than the sun. She let out a groan of annoyance at his antics.

"But you didn't infuse those kisses with your healing magic." Kyoko would have slammed her head against the table if they weren't in such a nice restaurant. This man was insufferable!

"I'll give you magic kisses when we get home." she grumbled before taking an overly vicious bite of her food. Kuon's grin fell into a look of shock as he gaped at her. She chewed quietly as she watched him, wondering what kind of dirty thing he was warping that sentence into. She hadn't meant anything in particular by it, wanting to simply give a retort out of sheer stubbornness, but it seemed to have some effect on him. Smugly, she grinned as she took another bite of her food. Kuon eventually rebooted, clearing his throat quickly before returning to eating his own food. They ate in relative silence for the last little bit of their meal, and then Kuon paid the bill to a starry-eyed waitress. Kyoko pouted lightly at her date being ogled over so openly while she was right there. Frankly, it was very rude.

Kyoko was pouting again as they walked, and then Kuon noticed that there was a small group of performers on the side of the walkway. Maybe...

"Kyoko, have you ever gone dancing?"

"Eh?" she looked up at him in surprise and he smiled down at her with that grudge-killing smile of his.

"Dancing, ever done it?" he simplified.

"I... took a few ballet classes when I was younger. A lot of girls in my grade were into it then." she says, a bit confused. Kuon smiled and held out his hand to her, the girl instinctively placing her own into his. Before she could realize what was happening, he gently tugged her closer and placed his other hand on her hip, causing her free hand to naturally come up to grab his shoulder. The man grinned down at the startled girl.

"That just won't do. We must remedy this awful injustice."

"Wha-? Kuon! H-here? We're in the middle of the street!"

"Negative, we are in the middle of a square, where there is a group of people playing in hopes of getting noticed, and plenty of room to move about." He replies smugly.

"I... I don't even know how to dance with a partner!" she objects hastily. Even as she spoke, Kuon took a step back, the girl gasping as she stepped forward as sh felt a pull to follow.

"That's perfectly fine. Dancing with a partner is almost entirely based on the ability of the lead. I'm leading, so all you have to do is trust me, and follow appropriately." He gave a gentle push with his hand and she took a step back, his own step following hers. Kyoko stared down at their feet with surprise. Step. Step. Step. She was doing it? She was dancing like a princess! She looked up at Kuon excitedly and found him smiling down at her, then pushed her outward. Before she could comprehend what was happening, he lifted her arm and she found herself twisting to follow in a slow spin, coming back to face him again. He had a small frown on his face for a second before she felt herself tugged back into his arms, her arm reaching out and landing on his shoulder again to steady herself. She stared in shock as he lead her into a few small steps again. "I will say though, you should try to always reach back out for me. If you don't, it makes it difficult to lead you into the next move." he explained. Realization dawned in her eyes, and then he was spinning her again. She did misstep a couple times, giving a little cringe, but he simply continued on and directed her a bit more firmly for a few seconds. She relaxed more and more into his lead, growing confident as he went. Was the music louder now? She didn't remember there being a trumpet playing a second ago. She glanced over to the tiny band of three as Kuon moved her along in their dance, finding that a forth person had indeed joined and began playing along. The other three people looked over at the girl curiously, but then looked to each other and grinned as they played even more energetically. As the tempo sped up, so did Kuon's steps, twirling her about and adding in a few turns of his own. Kyoko giggled loudly as they danced, joy bubbling in her chest. She gasped as she felt a strong tug sending her further against her partner, her mind stuttering as she found herself in a delicate dip with Kuon grinning down at her. She was slowly raised back to her feet and she realized the song had come to an end and there was a loud applause around them from spectators. She blushed brightly and Kuon led her into a bow, that cheeky grin still on his face. She pouted and smacked his arm, only getting laughter from him in response.

"How much do you enjoy embarrassing me?" she asked in false anger. Kuon wiped mirth from the corner of his eye.

"Honestly? Probably more than I should. You're just so cute when you're flustered." Kyoko crossed her arms and pouted at him, then startled as the band plus one approached them. She tried to apologize for stealing the show from them, but they only exclaimed that it was fun and actually helped them gather more attention in the process. There was questions about their relationship soon after, as well as one person claiming they looked familiar, though mostly her. Kyoko quickly dismissed themselves at that, tugging an amused Kuon along. She didn't slow down until they were safely back at his place, leaning against the door with a heavy sigh.

"Too much excitement?" Kuon asked, still grinning widely. Kyoko glared up at him.

"I'll show _you_ too much excitement." she growled out. Kuon's eyes went wide and she smirked. _That one_ had been intentional.

* * *

 _Just so you all know, I originally planned on cutting this chapter at roughly 6,000 some-odd words, but then I remembered that I said I was going to be writing the whole date on here and I wrote out the rest. That means you got roughly 2,000 extra words or something. You're Welcome._

 _I wrote this up instead of eating, so now I'm going to go gobble down two meals in one... after I answer your questions._

 _Panda00- I guess you will simply have to read to find out ;) Don't worry though, the ship is strong with these two. Haha_

 _Hairy Friend- If we're talking first eating out together, my SO and I went to a "Jack in the Box" between school and band practice. If we're talking about the first place we went to where we actually got dressed a little nicer and planned it... I can't even remember. We hold "Texas Roadhouse" in a special place in our hearts, though. *shrug* we're Texan and I love steak with all my being. What can you do? I hope you liked the date. I used a few elements from my own experiences. Funny enough, my SO and I got called "cowboy" in Italy when we were asked where we're from. "Special discount for Cowboy" is now one of our favorite things to say to one another, hahahahaha!_  
 _Sex is indeed a very complicated part of relationships. It's very bonding, but can tear you up inside if you don't take care of the surrounding elements properly. Even in marriage, we have difficulty finding a good balance, and things only get more difficult when one person has a higher libido than the other._  
 _Nightmares like what Kuon suffers are similar to a mental illness. That is to say, they're directly linked to past experiences and his own self reflection. Having Kyoko there helps him to cope and heal, but she's not going to be able to block them completely. Dreams can also easily go from sexy and wonderful, to a full blown nightmare where you lose your loved ones. In my experience, the best thing you can do for nightmares is just have your loved one be there. The nightmares will come still, but having that person there will help you calm down and get back to sleep. Almost every time, the second dream is much nicer._  
 _I'm going to skip over Aika for this AN, but I will thank you for your enjoyment on the last tidbit of last chapter. One should always be careful about where they leave their toys out. My roommate and I have had more than a few laughs over toys left out by both of us, as well as times his girlfriend came over and left EVERYTHING out. Oh, what fun that was. (though not quite comparable to her mom finding her toys and throwing them away. :p I heard those things weren't cheep either)_

 _Erza Tsuruga- We're chill. When you say she shouldn't have called him that, you ARE talking about her being mean to Ren in the actual manga, right? I just went back and read my last release, and then the chapter to see if there was any inconsistencies I should fix, but that's the only thing I could really figure. Correct me if I'm just being blind though. Xp  
Yeah, I don't really like Sho much either. He's had his ups and downs for me, but I really hated him when he pushed those first and second kisses on Kyoko. I don't care if he was trying to rial her up, he KNEW she wouldn't want him to, and intentionally did it anyway. I don't really care for people getting upset at being looked at (note: I'm not excusing stalker behavior. I'm talking about looking over at someone from where you were originally and them accusing you of being a creep/pervert/whatever), but acting uncouth or touching someone in a way you KNOW they don't want to be touched makes me so angry. I've known far too many people, including my sisters and some close friends and loved ones, that have suffered at the hands of people that think that kind of behavior is okay. Just thinking about it makes my blood boil and my protective side go into overdrive._  
 _I did read the last chapter, and I'm honestly so afraid that the man at the restaurant will let that guy in without a care. Ren might hide behind a mask, but he doesn't even begin to treat Kyoko as horribly as "the cockroach" as you so eloquently put it. lol_

 _thank you all for your favorites, follows, and comments. See you next chapter._


	9. Chapter 9

_I have no excuse for my lack of posting other than my own inadequacies_

 _Fair warning, a vast majority of this was written on my phone in between work, so try not to focus too much on tiny mistakes that got auto-corrected and slipped past my radar during editing._

 _enjoy_

* * *

Kyoko smiled as she slid her hands down Ren's chest slowly, wiggling her hips as she straddled him to press down on his physical show of attraction to her.

"I was a little sad that Kuon had to disappear so soon, but I think I was starting to miss Ren just a little bit." She stated, fiddling with his collar lightly. Ren hummed and leaned forward to place feather light kisses along her neck and collar bone, nuzzling his nose into her warm soft flesh.

"I thought we were going to watch father's latest movie when I got back from Miss Wood's studio, no matter what time of night it is." He reminds her as he glanced to the clock on his tv. It was already almost two in the morning, and the only reason they had even considered it was due to having a late start the next day. Even so, he made no move to push her away and grab the DVD he bought while in the Mariana Islands. Instead, it lay quietly on the table. Kyoko gave a tiny little shrug and a noncommittal noise before she pressed her body more into his.

"We can watch it later. You said it'll be in english, so I'll need to concentrate more to understand the words and such. I don't have much concentration after seeing my sexy senpai after sooo looo~ng. Besides, I still have some promises to keep."

"Promises?"

"Don't tell me you forgot already!" Kyoko gasped dramatically. "I told you I would give you lots of magical kisses, and that I would show you... too much excitement." She grinned mischievously as Ren stared at her in shock. He could barely believe his ears. His innocent little girlfriend was showing some vibrant new colors to him as of late. Could she really be insinuating such a spectacular promise? Oh, but he was definitely not one to deny her when she was treating him so... sweetly.

"You've been getting quite forward lately." He observes, a smirk pulling at his own lips as he recalled the conversation they had before he left on his trip. She had even been open to the idea of giving her virginity to him. One hand trailed slowly up her spine, the fabric of her shirt shifting easily under his touch. Kyoko gasped as she arched lightly. "Are you trying to become a little seductress?" He teased with a smirk against her neck. Her skin felt heated under his gentle kisses, warm and tempting. He couldn't help but have a small taste, running his tongue over her pulse point slowly.

"How can I not -ah- be more confident when I have _your_ attention on me all the time?" She asked breathlessly as her own hands trailed into his hair. Ren let out a soft moan as he gave a another tentative lick, relishing in all her little gasps and squirms when he started unbuttoning her shirt with one hand. God, she was so sensitive. His arms tensed up as she hummed sensually and he gripped her hip with his other hand, pausing halfway through undoing her shirt.

"You have more than just my attention, Kyoko." He tumbled out and started tugging at the collar of her shirt, pushing her bra strap aside as he kissed the newly exposed skin. Kyoko fidgeted on him as she blushed, her adrenaline pumping as she basked in his actions against her. Was this the kind of thing he was wanting to do to her before? She should have talked to him about touching her sooner! She gasped and hugged his head when she felt him find her nipple with his mouth, encouraging him further by grinding down on him. She had never even imagined that being suckled on that little nubs could feel so good. The girls in the erotica she was reading enjoyed it, but they enjoyed just about _everything_!

"I can't even imagine how." She gasped out before a mewling sound escaped her lips. She blushed and pulled her hands away from his hair in favor of covering her mouth with embarrassment. Ren pulled from her nipple with a small pop, then grabbed her wrists and pulled them away from their cover.

"Because you're amazing, and charming, and I love how you react to me. Don't keep your adorable sounds from me, Kyoko." He requested with that emperor look in his eyes. Kyoko squirmed timidly on his lap, acutely aware of her half unbuttoned shirt and how the collar was opened in such a way that had one of her breasts fully exposed to him.

"It's embarrassing, Tsuruga-san." She mutters out, shivering at the glint in his eyes. In an instant, he pushed her down onto the couch, pinning her wrists to the cushions as he hovered over her and raked his eyes down her form.

"I like seeing the embarrassing parts of you." He claims, releasing one of her wrists in favor of gliding a hand gently down her body. She shivered and gasped under his attentions, feeling that familiar warmth pool in her gut.

"It's unfair if I don't get to see yours too." She whined before freezing up as she realized the implications of that. Ren grinned above her, then leaned back and began unbuttoning his own shirt. Her eyes greedily followed his hands as they exposed more and more of his skin.

"Then I'll gladly show you; every part. You're the only one allowed to see my most shameful of appearances." He stated smoothly. She chewed her lip as he finished undoing his shirt, opening it completely for her and allowing the girl to reach up and run her hands over his chest and stomach.

"As if your bare skin could ever be shameful. If anything, you bless me with the very sight of you." She counters just as smoothly. The man shivered as his eyes slid shut, his arms tensing up as he restrained from doing as he pleased with her.

"You look at me far kinder than I deserve." He says in a torturous groan. She wanted to explore him right now, so he had to be patient... but damn was it difficult. "Besides, I could say the same about you. There isn't a single part of you that I find shameful to gaze upon. Every inch of your skin is invigorating and delightful." he claims as she busied her hands on him.

Kyoko giggled and enjoyed feeling all the firm muscles of his body, gliding over his torso in random patterns before slowly allowing her hands to dip to his waistline and fiddle with his belt. Ren strained not to push her away in an effort to keep his sanity. He knew that he probably should, but her touch was so intoxicating. He wanted her to feel him more, explore his skin, pleasure his deepest desires. She managed to flick the button to his pants open, and then her hand was squirming inside his underwear, gripping him and feeling on his length. Kyoko watched with delight as the man groaned and shook above her as his manhood twitched in her hand.

"Kyoko," he moaned breathlessly, her name sending shivers down her back when it was said in such a way by him, "it's getting very difficult not to do as I please, and not in a way I think is very agreeable with us right now." He warned, eyes cracking open slightly to gaze down at her. Kyoko calmed her exploration of him as she considered his words.

"Shall we take this to the bedroom, then?" She asks. That snapped his eyes open fully.

"I really don't want to try anything like that until you're eighteen, Kyoko. We talked about this." He reminded her. She pouted lightly at him before pulling her hand out of his pants and starting to push on his shoulders. He sat up obediently, no longer trapping her against the couch cushions but confused as she hopped off the couch with a thoughtful look on her face.

"I'm not talking about... _that_. I just have an idea. Come on." She tugged his arm and he hesitantly followed, holding up his pants with his free hand as he went. He looked concerned when she pointed to his bed and told him to lay down, causing the girl to huff and cross her arms. "You're always telling me to trust you. Now I'm asking you to trust me. I won't do anything you dislike." She assures him. Ren slid onto the bed and situated himself in the middle, back up against the headboard as he watched her start rifling through his drawers.

"So, do I want to know what you're looking for?" He asked, still not entirely convinced she wasn't trying to take things too far.

"Ahah!" She cheered as she perked up and practically skipped over to the bed, a silky white tie in her hand. Ren rose his eyebrows curiously at the little strip of fabric.

"And what do you plan to do with that?" He asks, watching her as she crawled up to him on the bed. Her mischievous grin pulled at her lips as she straddled his lap again, pleased as she saw his eyes trail over her half-open shirt.

"I'm going to make sure you can enjoy this thoroughly, without the worry of doing something you'll regret." She giggles before grabbing his hand and pulling it up above his head. Ren watched her worriedly for a moment longer before taking a deep and calming breath. She was right, of course; he should trust her. He was always asking her to trust him, even before he had come completely clean about his past. He felt a tug at his wrists as she finished securing them, giving an experimental pull and finding it tight and secure. _'This is such an odd predicament'_ he thought to himself as he looked to his little slip of a girlfriend, tying him to his own bed. "There we go. It's a good thing you have a metal headboard. If it was a flat wooden headboard, this would be a lot more difficult." She says proudly.

"You sound like you've tried this before."

"I read about it... and some other things." She giggled at Ren's bewildered expression. "Like I told you before, the girls and I have been trading books... I wonder if the newest girl reads these sort of things." She pondered lightly. When Ren stayed silent and developed a confused expression, she looked at him and suppressed a giggle. "But this is one thing I'll never share..." She seemed to get an idea for something and got up, running out of the room and leaving a confused man tied to the bed. He didn't have to wait for her to come running back in, a large grin on her face as she held... her phone?

"Kyoko, what are you doing with that?" Ren asked suspiciously. The girl simply squirmed and held it to her chest excitedly.

"I was thinking I could save a picture. We have an album to fill now, right?"

"Mmaaaybe we could have a secret box for those kinds of pictures, Kyoko." He suggested worriedly. Maybe they could put them in his safe. He didn't even want to _think_ of someone finding those kinds of pictures between them. She hummed thoughtfully at that before nodding in agreement and raising her phone, snapping a picture of the tied up and slightly disheveled Ren. A shiver of excitement raced up her spine as she stared at the saved memory.

"I think that may be fun. Will you help me print off hard copies of the pictures I have?" She asked before taking a few more shots so that she could chose her favorites later.

"Why does that sound like you already have other embarrassing pictures of me?" He asked suspiciously, shifting his hands in the tie a bit. Kyoko looked at him sheepishly for a moment before fiddling with her phone some more and then turning it to show it to him. There on the screen was a picture of him sleeping with his sheep pillow she had gotten him.

"When did you... I _knew_ I heard a camera shutter." He states accusingly as his girlfriend continued grinning back at him. Kyoko giggled and set her phone aside before crawling toward him from the foot of the bed. Ren rose his eyebrows curiously as he watched her, the slight bulge in his open pants jumping slightly as she wiggles her way up between his legs. Her eyes caught the motion, flicking downward to peer at it thoughtfully before she slowly slid her hand to cup over his excitement, pressing and rolling it lightly. Ren hissed and let his head fall backwards as he tugged his arms against the tie again.

"Let's not dwell on the past, Kuon... or I guess you're Ren right now, right?" She teased, her smirk growing as she watched him fidget and squirm under her attentions. Ren merely let out a grunt in response, his arms tugging on their restraint. She pulled the band of his boxer-briefs down and grinned as he sprung out, gently gliding a finger up the underside of the piece. Ren watched her through heavy eyes as she fiddled and played with him, the girl getting immense enjoyment out of every twitch of his member and every tug of his arms above his head. When she took the first lick along the underside of his shaft, his eyes rolled shut as he tugged more on his arms. We wanted to touch her so bad.

Kyoko watched his reactions closely, quickly exposing his most sensitive spots as she licked and kissed, her hand gliding over the firm piece to tease him further. He was already breathing a bit heavier when she decided to pulled the head into her mouth, sucking on it as she glanced up at his expression. Ren shivered and moaned, his whole body tense as he tried to free his hands. It was invigorating, having her touch him so intimately while he was helplessly tied to the bed.

"Kyoko." He gave a breathy moan, the sound seeming to encourage her further. She pulled as much of him into her mouth as she could, feeling the piece hit her throat before she started bobbing her head, licking, sucking, drooling on the piece as her hand stroked what she couldn't fit in her mouth. Ren groaned and tugged as she drew him closer and closer to climax, the girl trying to push him further into her throat only to gag and go back to sucking and stroking with her hand.

"You don't... need to push yourself." He panted out, though she could tell he liked it. She hummed lightly in response, the vibrations shocking through him with surprise. She had to pull away when she felt herself smirking at his response. She had read enough to know that men didn't really appreciate having teeth graze against their sensitive piece too harshly, and she didn't think her first blowjob was a good time to experiment with that. She took to licking him along the length again, then sucked on the head as she stroked his shaft some more. "T-tighter, please. Grip it tighter." He gasped. She tried to squeeze it a little more, but he only asked for it tighter. Was it really okay? Wouldn't it hurt if she squeezed it too much? When another plea left his lips, she gripped him as tight as she could and stroked roughly, her drool around it acting as a lubricant and allowing her hand to slide easily even now. The responding groan was loud and invigorating. With a glance up at his expression again, she could see he was lost in the pleasure now, his eyes closed as he panted and moaned out her name. "Kyoko... Kyoko I'm close." He warned. She thought quickly as she started sucking and bobbing her head again. The men in the books she read seemed to enjoy shooting their cum in the girl's mouth, but the bondage ones with the man being dominated often were denied that and teased in the end. Oh yeah, she was going to try that.

Kyoko pulled her hand away and reached up, bobbing her head a bit slower to make sure he didn't slip out as she glides her palms along his hips and sides. She sucked harder and relished in how her boyfriend panted and moaned, calling her name pleadingly, and then she raked her nails down his sides roughly. Ren groaned loudly and his hips jerked up, thrusting into her mouth as he called out a last warning. She sucked him deep into her mouth, and then had to force her body not to jerk back in surprise as she felt warmth shoot into her throat. She stilled and held him there, looking up at him slowly as he panted and gazed back down at her worriedly. "Are... are you okay?" He asked. She pulled away from his dick slowly, holding the semen in her mouth as she nodded. It tasted different than when she had tasted it on her fingers last time, a little more salty, a little less bitter, but still rather odd and thick. Ren was still watching her as she assessed the strange substance in her mouth. "Do you want to spit it out?" He asked. Plenty of girls did that, as far as he knew. He had heard talk about it, and most every girl had done so for him as a teen. There were some that would swallow it, though he was pretty sure that was to show off. A vast majority would either spit it out or wouldn't take it in their mouth in the first place, though he didn't have any specific memories he held for any of those instances.

Kyoko swallowed, and his eyes went wide as he stared at her with shock.

"Kyoko?"

"It's not that bad. You taste saltier this time." She says after a moment. It still wasn't some delicacy or anything, but she didn't mind it's flavor so much she supposed.

"Is... is that so?" He spoke softly and she nodded with a timid smile as she poked the tip of his penis with her pointer finger. Ren watched her as she played gently with his piece, the two of them falling into a short silence. He didn't last long before he felt the need to speak up again. "So are you going to untie me so I can repay the favor?" Kyoko's wide eyes snapped up to him, and then a grin stretched across her face.

.

.

.

* * *

Yashiro was unusually quiet when he picked up the two celebrities this strange morning. Kyoko looked over to Ren with curiosity, but the man simply gave a small shake of his head to show he was just as confused as she was.

"He looks so serious." She whispered to her undercover boyfriend. Ren leaned closer to her and stared at Yashiro as he whispered back to her.

"He's never been this quiet before." He agrees. Kyoko frowned lightly in worry as they watched their manager together in silence. She had thought he sounded a bit odd on the phone this morning, but hadn't given a lot of thought to it until he gave them a somewhat soft greeting upon getting in the car. Did he get some bad news? Did this have something to do with the sudden meeting with the president this evening before work? She hoped everything was okay.

.

.

Ren and Kyoko were following after their eerily quiet manager to the elevator when bright pink flashed in their vision and Ren found himself pushed up against the hallway wall by a furious love-me member. This was not what he was expecting to deal with when he saw bright pink in his vision, otherwise he would have shifted out of their way as they barreled toward their group.

"Who are you?" The girl snapped, fury rolling off of her in waves. Kyoko and Yashiro startled and quickly tried to assist Ren, Kyoko tugging on a furious Kanae's arm as she tried to get back at the stunned man while the manager checked to make sure his charge was unharmed. Ren merely shrugged it off. Kanae was strong for her size, but still nowhere near his level to where she could harm him with something like that.

"Moko-san, what are you doing?" Kyoko cried, holding tightly to the girl.

"You're not who you pretend to be, so who are you?" The girl was ignoring the other two, her focus completely on the tall man before her. Ren took a moment to gather himself again, frowning lightly as he looked at the second love-me member.

"Kotonami-san..." he started slowly, but the girl's glare only deepened as she ground her teeth.

"Answer the question, phony. You still owe me one. I'm cashing it in now. Who. Are. You?" Ren looked confused and a bit worried as his eyes flicked to Kyoko in question. She quickly shook her head in reply to show that she had no idea what this was about. It was a surprise to both of them when Yashiro sighed and reached into his satchel.

"I think I know what this is about." Kanae's head snapped to the manager so quickly, they all could swear they heard a loud snap. The girl didn't show any indication that she was effected by the sound, focusing on her new target as she took a threatening step toward him. Yashiro sweat nervously as he pulled out a piece of paper with some article copied onto it. Ren and Kyoko only had to see the picture before they looked to one another in understanding. There, plain as day, was a tabloid shot of Kuon merrily dancing with a laughing Kyoko in the middle of a park. It was a nice photo, printed in color and everything, but the fact that it was in a tabloid kept them from appreciating it to its full extent. "President Lory is requesting a meeting regarding this." He explained. Kyoko and Ren looked to each other worriedly, both concerned about how it could effect the other.

"I guess... we should go meet with him then." Ren suggests, getting a nod of agreement from Kyoko.

"I'm coming too," Kanae declared firmly, standing in their path. Yashiro frowned uncertainly. Ren glanced to Kyoko as she fidgeted uncomfortably. This was her best friend, a girl that seemed to truly care for and worry about Kyoko's well-being. He could maybe lie and say it was simply his disguise for their date but... somehow he didn't see her being quite convinced, and she would probably hound Kyoko for answers as soon as they got a moment together. Kyoko has already stated that Kanae was barely accepting her excuses regarding him as it is. He couldn't put her in the line of her friend's fiery wrath for him. He could handle this..., for Kyoko's sake.

"Kotonami-san, I'm not sure if-"

"If you truly want to make this your favor, I won't object." Ren interrupted Yashiro. The president likely told the manager that his was a private matter, but Ren had resolved himself. Besides, he _did_ promise to give her one favor as thanks for her guiding Kyoko in his direction. She probably could have just as easily pushed Kyoko away from him, or even toward someone else. Hopefully she would be willing to stay quiet about his secret; if not for him, than at least for Kyoko's sake. Kyoko was their mutual treasure. Surely she would be just as willing to compromise as he was in face of the girl.

Kanae nodded firmly, her eyes baring into him with suspicion. Yashiro looked a bit nervous about Ren's decision, but ultimately knew he couldn't take back Ren's words. Nervously, he lead the three celebrities up to the company president's office.

* * *

Lory looked a bit startled and confused as Kanae joined them in the office, glancing to Ren who gave a noncommittal shrug. Sighing, the president went to sit in one of the chairs of his sitting area, the metal of the armor he had dressed up in for the day clinking a bit noisily as he moved.

"From The looks on your faces, you all know why I've called for this sudden meeting." Lory started, lighting a cigar and puffing it as he took a short moment to let them settle in.

"Someone managed to get a picture of Kyoko and I when we were out together the other day." Ren stated simply, looking completely cool and collected as usual. Kyoko watched their company president quietly as the older man shifted his gaze between her and Ren.

"You haven't been honest with me, Ren."

"I've never lied to you, president-san." Ren replied smoothly. Kyoko felt the very air in the room freeze and become tense as Ren and Lory sized each other up for a moment. Lory scowled lightly at the boy before him.

"You didn't tell me of the development in your relationship."

"Nothing has happened that you need to concern yourself with... save for the photo that turned up now."

"A photo of you in _that_ apperance." Lory declared, pointing a somewhat harsh finger at the article Yashiro had once again taken out.

"Is there something wrong with the way that I appeared?"

"You _know_ what I mean, Ren."

"I've already told Kyoko everything." Lory fell silent as he looked to Kyoko quickly, and then back to Ren. The actor nodded once in confirmation. "She knew my name before I left for the Mariana Islands last week, and I told her about my joining LME on the day of that photo." Lory sunk backward into his chair, honestly surprised at this sudden revelation. How could it happen without him knowing? His eyes snapped to Yashiro.

"And you never thought to inform me about this development?" He asked, frowning like a kicked puppy. Yashiro cleared his throat and fidgeted nervously in his seat next to Kanae, the young woman staying silent as she watched the exchange with scrutinizing eyes.

"I... didn't know about any of this. I found out about them dating a little while before Ren left, but apparently they were even dating for two months before that, and they swore me to secrecy. I had no idea there was anything else involved like... secret identities and some special circumstance around Ren coming to LME." He explained hastily. Lory choked on the smoke of his cigar before harshly sniffing it out in a tray, staring at the floor with incredulity as he processed Yashiro's words.

"Two months? Now three? How can this be? How did I not detect such a significant change in their relationship? And for so long..." He muttered to himself. Kanae's finger started tapping impatiently on her leg as she watched the other four people. She didn't know what was going on. All she was getting was itty bitty scraps.

"President, I'm going to guess this last minute meeting is mostly meant to be for us to discuss what to do about this." Ren tried to get the conversation back on track, the president nodding thoughtfully as he considered it.

"Indeed, yes... but why is miss Kotonami here?" He asked, looking to Yashiro and Kyoko with confusion. The last person he expected to answer was Ren himself.

"Various reasons. She already knew Kyoko and I were together from the beginning, so she understandingly became very protective and suspicious of me when the photo came out with Kyoko on a date with a foreigner... which I guess she was able to deduce was me." Ren explained. He didn't think the president really needed to know that the tipping point had been her demanding to cash in her favor and the fact that he believed she would corner his beloved later if she didn't get adequate answers now. It was just his luck that she had figured as much as she had based off a simple photo. Lory hummed lightly in thought and nodded as he eyed his second loveme member.

"And do you plan on exposing yourself here? In front of everyone?"

"I suppose I don't have much of a choice." Ren stated, though the light smile on his face showed that he wasn't _too_ bothered by it. Lory sighed and shook his head lightly.

"I suppose those old wounds of yours have truly begun healed. I admit that I wasn't sure when you told me such."

"I still want to keep it under wraps as much as possible though." Ren ensured. "I'm not ready to go back home yet." He looked down to Kyoko, as if he was also reassuring her that he wasn't planning on leaving just yet. The girl smiled back up at him as Kanae watched with a slight frown. Quietly, he took one of her smaller hands in his own, drawing on her for moral support as he prepared himself.

Kanae could easily tell from the information supplied that Ren wasn't from Japan..., but he really did look Japanese with a simple color change of his eyes and hair. Maybe a mix? Even so, he was hiding himself from the real world. People don't hide things without reason.

"This is nice and all, but I have work to get back to. I just want to know who this... foreigner is that is dating _**my**_ best friend! Who did I push her into dating?" Kanae demanded, crossing her arms and scowling. Lory watched the young actress with curiosity. That seemed to be the root of the girl's worries. She was afraid she had unknowingly pushed Kyoko into being with a dangerous person that they didn't really know. He was mighty curious about the fact that she had apparently been the one to help Kyoko and Ren to finally come together. Not only was it unexpected for a loveme member to have anything to do with encouraging that kind of emotion, but she had managed to be successful in what he and Yukihito had been struggling to do for months! Friendship truly was an amazing thing.

The president hummed and sniffed out his cigar.

"No need to worry so much, Kotonami-san. I can assure you that Kuon is of no danger to Kyoko."

"Kuon?" Kanae and Yashiro echoed with confusion. Lorry looked back to Ren and gave a small nod. ' _I broke the ice for you, but this is your decision._ ' It seemed to say. Ren let out a steadying sigh as he gripped his hands together with Kyoko's between them like a prayer, his eyes cast downward.

"My real name is Hizuri Kuon. Hizuri Kuu is my father." He states with apparent calm, glancing to Kyoko as if he were revealing this information to her all over again. She smiled to him in pride and support, giving an encouraging nod and squeeze of her hand in his that brought a small smile to his face. "I joined LME under a stage name so I could make a name for myself, without the support of my father, without people being able to brush away all my accomplishments and efforts as something I only had from connections. I'm sorry for the deception, but I hope you both can understand why I have lived the last several years as another person." He says, humbly bowing to the two slack-jawed people across from him.

"Your Kuu's son!" Yashiro suddenly squealed before having to quickly take several breaths.

"Yukihito, please calm down." Ren urged, worried for his manager. The bespectacled man shook his head quickly as he stood and began pacing back and forth.

"I can't believe it. This whole time, I've been managing the son of a legend!" Ren sighed lightly and looked to Kyoko, the girl giggling and squeezing her hand still clasped between his.

"I feel like he's freaking out even more than when he found out about us." Ren chuckled. Kyoko blushed lightly and looked away as she recalled that particular instance. She still couldn't believe she had gotten caught in such an intimate moment with her senpai.

"I'm... sorry for doubting you." Kanae muttered, looking away even as she apologized.

"There's no need for you to apologize, Kotonami-san. I'm glad that you care so much about Kyoko."

"Oh my god, I'm going to manage TWO Hizuries!" Yashiro squealed from some other spot in the office. He didn't stay there long, pacing about even more wildly. Ren cringed and looked to Kyoko worriedly.

"You don't need to listen to him if it bothers you." He says softly, making her cheeks redden further. Right, she had almost forgotten his little promise to her. She stared down at her lap as she fiddled with her fingers.

"I... I don't really mind it. We'll get to that conversation on a later date, but Yashiro can fangirl a bit if he really needs to. It's almost like having a personal cheerleader." She giggled. Ren's eyebrows rose curiously and a loud clatter came from the president's armor as he shot to his feet.

"If Yashiro's a cheerleader, I'm the cheer captain!" He claims defiantly. Kyoko frowned as she wondered if telling the president not to get a cheer uniform would only give him the idea.

"Suuuure..." she settled on saying as she looked to Ren worriedly. Her boyfriend simply gave that annoyingly stupid shrug again.

"It's a good thing you brought me here, or this meeting would drag on forever from those twos' nonsense. We need to get on with finding a solution. The article didn't seem to make any connection with Tsuruga Ren, but they _did_ recognize Kyoko. I thought I told you to wear a disguise!" Kanae exclaimed with exasperation. Kyoko shrunk away timidly as she looked up at her best friend.

"I'm sorry Moko-san."

"Don't apologize to me! This is your problem, so just help me help you!" Kyoko's eyes watered as she flung herself at her friend happily. Kanae sighed and rolled her eyes with exasperation, but then smiled and pat the younger girl's head as she smirked over at Ren. The man simply smiled and let the girls enjoy their moment, to which Kanae would never admit she was thankful for.

.

.

* * *

.

"I didn't really have time to tell you this before, but I really am sorry I tried to attack your boyfriends this morning. It's just... You tend to be overly forgiving of people you care about, and I just..." Kanae released a heavy sigh as she ran a hand through her hair. They were safely in the loveme locker room after their respective jobs for the day. Kyoko smiled and hugged her best friend happily, the older girl holding back a smile at the knowledge that she could be forgiven just like that. Kyoko really was too forgiving at times.

"It makes me happy that you care so much about me Moko-san! Actually, I'm kind of happy that you pushed yourself into that conversation. Not only did you help us stay on track, but you helped keep things a bit more sensible than I think the president could have held on his own." Kyoko explained. Kanae groaned as if the very thought were painful.

"I don't even want to think of what he would have come up with if I hadn't made the suggestions I did, especially with him wearing that rediculous armor as a way to 'prepare for battle' or something." Kyoko muffled her giggles behind a hand. "I hope Tsuruga doesn't hold a grudge against me for barging in, though. Now that it's over and I know his reasons behind everything, I realize that it really wasn't my place to force his hand like that." She sighed. Kyoko hummed and thought about t for a second. Kanae didn't know about it everything still, but she didn't think it would be a good idea to bring up Kuon's late friend and everything surrounding his ultimate downfall. It wasn't her secret to tell, and she didn't want to worry Kanae all over again. It was probably best to simply roll with it and reassure the raven haired beauty.

"No, I don't believe he will. He's stated a few time already that he doesn't feel ready to become Kuon again, but he's slowly coming to terms with a lot of things. Besides, Tsuruga-san is the kind of person that forgives those that sincerely apologize. He might still feel hurt and maybe a bit more guarded, but he won't hold a grudge against a person who honestly regrets their actions." At Kanae's skeptical look, Kyoko let out another giggle. "Yeah, I was surprised when I realized it, too. He's childish at times, but Tsuruga-san is truly a proper adult." Kanae fell quiet as she pondered this for a moment, pursing her lips slightly.

"Do you think he would forgive Fuwa if he honestly apologized?" Kyoko paused, wanting to answer that he definitely would, but then having to stop and think on that.

"You know..., I can't really see that." She admits with a slight frown. "Then again, I don't know what Shotaro even did to Tsuruga-san, other than just being blatantly rude all the time. What?" Kanae was currently giving her an incredulous look, confusing the younger girl.

"You can _not_ be serious. Tsuruga hates Sho because of his past with you. I told you before, didn't I? He's jealous." Kyoko turned a bit red as she recalled that conversation. It couldn't have been that far back, could it? He confessed that he had liked her for some time, but all the way to then?

"I really don't think he liked me yet at that time." Kyoko says timidly. Kanae gave Kyoko a bored look for a moment before rolling her eyes.

"I _really_ do. Just trust me on this, Kyoko, he's liked you at _least_ since then. Didn't you ever notice a point when he just became softer toward you or something?" Kyoko paused and thought on that, pursing her lips as her brow scrunched slightly in thought.

"I guess..., maybe some time around getting my job as Bo? No, I'm pretty sure he still hated me then, but... right before we auditioned for that commercial together, he was kind enough to give me advice on making myself stand out with the dreaded pink overalls. If it weren't for him, I might not have even thought of it." She explained, thumbing the material of her overalls before pulling them on. Kanae looked at her own uniform, still folded in the locker and hesitant to grab it.

"I guess this cursed uniform has helped us, though certainly not in a way one would expect. I suppose that's how things related to the president work, though." She said with a light smile before shaking her head quickly. "Anyway, do you want to spend the night tonight and you can tell me about your date? As far as I can see in your picture, you seemed pretty happy." She said. Kyoko fiddled with her hands timidly.

"I'm sorry, Moko-san, but I promised the president that I would have a call with father tonight. I think it would be best to do that at home, and I also wanted to help out in the restaurant a bit since I've been so absent lately." She explained, blushing a bit at the confession to barely being home as of late. Kanae smirked lightly but didn't comment on it.

"Okay, we can do it another time if you want, or I can come over after you're done with your phone call."

"Come over! Come over!" Kyoko squealed happily, jumping on her friend with an excitable hug. Kanae grunted and shoved her off. She was getting used to more calm hugs from Kyoko, but she still hated it when she was jumped on with too much energy, and contact was still kept to a fairly low level.

"Okay, Okay! Calm down, geeze! What time is your call supposed to be?" Kyoko cringed then.

"Around 11 tonight. The time difference is kind of a hindrance. I was going to work until then." The girl sighed sadly. "I guess I'll just have you come over another day."

"Why? I don't see a problem." Kyoko perked up and stared at her best friend with shock.

"But... it's so late!"

"So? I'll get one of those idiots from my place to drop me off, no big deal." She crosses her arms and looked away with a huff. Kyoko's eyes watered as she clasped her hands before Kanae. It was a big deal, Kyoko knew it was. Kanae didn't like asking for help, _especially_ from those crazy family members of hers.

"Moko~!"

"Mo! Stop that!"

"Well, you guys seem lively as ever." The two girls stopped their usual banter of Kanae trying to push away an affectionate Kyoko, looking over to the door where Chiori and Aika had just entered.

"Amamiya-san! Hasegawa-san, Good evening!" Kyoko greeted happily while Kanae gave a simple nod of acknowledgement. Aika rose her eyebrows at the two.

"With how bouncy you are, I can only guess that article was true. Kyoko-san has a foreigner boyfriend." Aika stated somewhat dryly. Chiori looked absolutely shocked, quickly looking between the other three girls. Kyoko and Kanae were both silent, the former red in the face as she fidgeted with her fingers.

"What? An article?" The third loveme girl echoed in surprise. Aika nodded and pulled out her phone, fiddling with it before holding it out for Chiori to see. The girl's eyes widened with shock before she looked to Kyoko again.

"Wow. That's amazing, Kyoko-chan." She complimented readily. Aika made a face.

"I thought this section shunned things like love." She said, sounding a bit annoyed. Chiori shook her head quickly.

"Oh no, not at all! We are supposed to be working toward regaining that vital emotion."

"You mean fatal." Aika corrected nearly automatically. The other three paused for a moment as they stared at the newest member.

"Wow, you sound just like Kyoko did when she first joined. To think that things can change so drastically." Kanae stated with a sense of awe. That seemed to strike a nerve with the girl, glaring at Kanae viciously.

"Are you trying to say that I'll become like that too?" She practically hissed as she rudely pointed at Kyoko. The girl in question startled and stared at Aika with shock. "I'll never be some simpering girl, trailing after a disgusting man."

"Kuon is not disgusting!" Kyoko objects instantly.

"All men are disgusting!" Aika returned firmly. "All they care about is sex and showing off. Foreigners are even worse, what with their lax cultures and the like. If that guy hasn't already, you'll quickly find him pawing at you and pressuring you to give your body to him. That's how men are." She marches over to her locker and slammed it open before yanking her uniform off and shoving her street clothes on. Kanae wrapped an arm around Kyoko protectively as she glared at the new girl.

"You don't know anything about their relationship. You have no right to claim one way or another."

"I don't need to know any more than that he's a man. Men are users that go purely on their disgusting instincts to breed and dominate. They make false promises, and then they leave as soon as times get rough and they feel 'trapped' or 'unsatisfied'. Don't say I didn't warn you." She slammed her locker shut and stomped out of the room, leaving the other three girls in a pregnant silence. Kanae looked down to Kyoko worriedly before heaving a sigh and pulling her into a hug, the girl nuzzling into the older's shoulder.

"I'm sure she doesn't know what she's talking about, Kyoko. Sure, there are some crappy guys out there, but you already said he isn't like that. You know your boyfriend way better than some girl that just generalizes everyone into a single category to judge them." The older girl soothes. Chiori quietly let the two work it out while she changed as well.

"I think what really worries me, is that's basically what Shotaro was like. He _was_ a user. He kept me around for his own benefit, and then he tossed me aside when I became too much of a burden." Her voice was muffled against Kanae's shoulder, but the older girl could easily hear just how much it was bothering her friend. "What if she's right? What if he does get tired of me?"

"You're kidding me right?" When Kyoko stayed silent, she pushed her away and held her at arms length. "Kyoko, that man has been trailing after you for the better part of a year. Do you think a guy with halfhearted feelings would wait around that long just for a little excitement? Sure, he probably likes that you keep him on his toes, what with your crazy ways," that earned her a tiny smile, "but that's because he... **loves** the crazy girl in the first place." Kanae had to force the sappy word out a bit, but Kyoko didn't mind it. "Why don't we call your crazy manager? He should still be around, right?" Kyoko looked up quickly.

"But what about the loveme work for the day?" Kanae rolled her eyes at that.

"I'm pretty sure you've just graduated this morning. You probably should have graduated months ago. You've already found your lost emotion after all. Go on and take a break, maybe ask Yashiro to grab you something to eat or drink, and contact your boyfriend. Maybe ask him to ease your worries a bit. It'll be fine." Kyoko nodded and fixed herself back into her street clothes before thanking Kanae as she ran out of the loveme room.

"You aren't going to speak if any of this to anyone." Kanae states without even turning around. Chiori gave a single soft laugh.

"I'm not an idiot. Though, I wonder if Tsuruga-san cares at all. I was under the impression that she was quite close with him." Kanae hummed lightly in response.

"It's crazy how the world works, isn't it?" She replies vaguely, getting a simple hum of agreement.

* * *

 _As always, thank you to everyone following, favoriting, commenting, etc. I don't know how well I did on this chapter, but I didn't feel comfortable putting it off any longer. I'm currently in a down mood, I suppose. Not much I can do about it but keep moving._

 _A little more insight on the personality of the new OC. I'm mighty curious what your impressions of her are thus far. Does she make you curious? Do you outright hate her?_  
 _Haha, I think I may have ended up making Kanae hate her. Funny how things work out._

 _ **Author Replies**_

 _Kaname671- I hope I lived up to your expectations in the first half of the chapter. Kyoko did pretty well for her first BJ, all things considered. Of course, guys like just about anything, so long as there's no teeth scraping, so she already had a head start in reading about needing to avoid that._

 _Erza Tsuruga- I had no intention of referencing any songs, but it doesn't surprise me if that kind of thing is put into various songs. It's a fairly old saying after all, and song artists love to use the poetic sayings of the past into their own works. Art is all about taking old things and making them something new after all.  
Yes, one thing I enjoy in my writing is to use past readings and experiences to reference. For one, it helps with the accuracy of my subjects I write about. For two, it helps to get you out and about. I'm not as physically capable as I was as a child (I could climb a 20 ft oak tree in just as many minutes at 12 years old), but I still enjoy hiking and the occasional sport-ish activity. It's a lot of fun to try the things you read and write about, so I would definitely recommend it._  
 _As for Ren's OOC-ness, I think I figured out the problem, but I don't think it's something I can easily fix. I have him as a lot more open and honest in this, which causes him to seem a little out of character because we're so used to him hiding his past and trying to be the character "Tsuruga Ren". I may be taking a bit of liberty with him, but I really do think he would be so determined to make his relationship with Kyoko work, that he would do just about anything for her. If revealing his true identity was the only was to help her out of a situation, I wholeheartedly believe he would resign himself to do so. I think I might have made him a little too timid in this chapter, but I'm in one of my "lost" moments where I don't know which way is which anymore. Hopefully it will be a short trip and I'll recognize my surroundings again soon._  
 _Sorry, that probably sounds strange. I'm trying._

 _kotoko-98- The ankle grabbing is based on past chapters where they eat at the low table in the living room. It seems to be where they usually have meals in his place. Thank you for your enjoyment of the way I wrote out their personal moments. I'm glad it was satisfactory._

 _puffinzero- thank you. I think I've mentioned in "When We Were Young" that I don't much care for the responses where Kyoko tells him "It wasn't your fault" and everything is suddenly fine. It's honestly unrealistic, and anyone who has blamed themselves for something they find deeply regrettable will tell you as much. I hope you liked Lory's reaction. I was unsure about having him wear something cliche like armor, but I thought it would be fitting, considering he would be thinking he has to get ready for a battle of sorts._

 _Hairy Friend-The embarrassment of someone finding your vibrator never fades. Even in married life, the wife will still get embarrassed any time hubby points it out or mentions it being used without him. I'm not really sure why exactly, but I suppose girls just consider it a very personal item or perhaps they're just embarrassed at the fact that they were so frustrated that they felt the need to pleasure themselves in the first place. On top of that, Ren/Kuon likes to tease her and see her cute reactions, so he would definitely make it worse by trying to teasingly inquire as to what exactly she was doing in **his** bed while he was away._  
 _I'm glad you liked all of the previous chapter. It was probably the best part of this story thus far. Also, full body massages are always the best. I don't know a single girl that would turn down a sensual, full-body groping from their lover. Even when they're not feeling particularly frisky, it still feels very good and relaxing. Everyone wins._

 _._

 _Until next time_


	10. Chapter 10

_Kyoko and Kuon were caught on their first official date, a picture of them dancing released to the public. Now that word has gotten out that Kyoko is seeing someone, she'll have to deal with the aftermath. It's a good thing she has so many people looking out for her._

* * *

"You're an idiot." Sho stated as soon as Kyoko closed the door to the restaurant's private room.

"Excuse me?"

"Ba~~ka~." He stretches it out, as if she couldn't understand the word itself. Kyoko frowned in disapproval.

"I heard what you said, stupid. What I don't understand is why you are showing up at my home, uninvited and unannounced, only to call me names. What's your problem, Shotaro?"

"Cut the crap, Kyoko. I've been trying to contact you for months now, but you were _said_ to have been at a friend of yours each time, and you're _still_ ignoring my calls. And now I hear this crap about you suddenly having a foreigner boyfriend? Explain yourself." He demanded, waving his phone around angrily. It was a good thing the restaurant owners put them in the private room. She really didn't want to address this in front of the whole restaurant.

"I don't have to explain anything to you, Sho-ta-ro." She hissed out, drawing out his name just to annoy him. The boy stood up then, looming over her threateningly.

"You belong to _me_. It is so my business when you go fluttering around and throwing yourself at some unknown man, acting like a loose woman." Kyoko's jaw dropped at that. How _DARE_ he?

"If anyone is loose, Sho, it's you! You... you... **manwhore**!" She yelled, using an english insult she had found when looking up things for Setsuka to use. She didn't really have a chance to use it when playing as the Heal siblings, but this was a perfect time for it.

"What? What does that mean?" Sho demanded, confused about the unknown word she had used against him. Whatever it was, it obviously wasn't good.

" **M** **anwhore**." Kyoko stated again, feeling a bit smug at taking him so off guard. "It's english for... a man who's very loose with his body, sleeping around, doing as he pleases with women. Oh, I maybe a **manchild** would be more fitting for you, seeing as you apparently can't take care of yourself. You're just a big baby." She sighed and shook her head with pity at him.

"I think it's about time you went back home to Kyoto." Sho growled out. Kyoko scoffed at him and crossed her arms, taking a very Setsu stance as she glared up at him.

"I'm not going anywhere. I don't have to do what you say."

" _You_ belong to _me_. If you can't control yourself, throwing yourself at whatever man that will have you, then you should go back home and relearn your manners!"

"I do _not_ belong to you, Shotaro. I am my own person! I can make my own decisions!" She was in his face now, spitting venomously as she tried get it into his thick scull that he didn't have any say in what she does with her life. Kyoko gasped as he grabbed her wrist and started trying to pull her. She tried to tug her hand away, but his grip was so strong! "Let. Me. Go!" She demanded, tugging with every word. Stupid Sho was a lazy bastard. How could he be so much stronger than her? She even exercised and worked her muscles regularly for her figure and her roles!

"I'm not letting you go until you promise to stop acting like an idiot."

"I'm not the idiot, idiot. You can't just come in here and-" She was cut off by the sound of her phone ringing, the girl freezing and her eyes blowing wide as she suddenly found herself wondering what time it was. Managing to yank her hand out of Sho's slackened grip, she quickly fished her phone out of her pocket and found it was getting an international phone call. She cursed under her breath as she quickly answered it, taking several quick steps from the singer. "Father! I'm so sorry, I got distracted and-"

"It's fine, Kyoko. I was just so excited when I got the message from Boss that you would be giving me a call today. I called you a couple minutes early in my own eagerness." Kuu explained joyously. Kyoko pulled the phone away for a moment to look at the time, finding that it was indeed a couple minutes before the hour. "I hope I wasn't interrupting anything important by calling early." He said a bit somberly. Kyoko shook her head with a happy smile.

"Oh no, nothing important. Hey!" Sho had yanked the phone out of her hand and eyed the phone before squinting suspiciously at her.

"Who is this?" He asked the phone, managing to keep a struggling Kyoko out of reach with one hand. Kuu was silent for a moment before he replied.

"I should be the one asking you that. You don't sound like either one of my beloved children."

"Give me back my phone, Shotaro! You're wasting sensei's time with your idiocy!"

"What kind of joke is this? You're being fooled, Kyoko." Sho tried to warn. He wasn't sure what exactly was going on, but it was obvious that this man on the phone wasn't her actual biological father. He had heard the adults talking about it when they were younger. Not even her mother knew who the father really was. Even if it _was_ the estranged father, it was likely that the man got in contact with her due to her rising [but minuscule and insignificant] fame.

"You don't know crap, Shotaro! Butt out and give me my phone!"

"Stop calling me Shotaro!"

"Make me!" Sho' hand jerked back before he froze at Kyoko's flinch backward. The two fell silent, frozen in place with Kyoko bracing for his attack and Sho's hand raised. Several seconds ticked by in the heavy silence before the boy clenched his fist and lowered it to his side.

"I don't want to hit you again, Kyoko." He said softly. Kyoko merely scoffed and rolled her eyes.

"I don't care how many times you hit me, Sho. It won't do any more damage to our relationship than you've already done. The fact still stands that you've done it before. You're still a child that lashes out when things don't go your way. I know for a _fact_ that Kuon would be too afraid to even _raise_ his hand against me, let alone strike me. This is only one of the many examples of why he's better than you." She stated with firm harshness. Sho's face scrunched in distaste at her.

"You hardly even know this guy. I bet he showed up one day, gave you a bunch of empty promises, and you just fell into his arms like the stupid girl that you are."

"Not every guy is like you, Sho! And thank Kami for that, because you're a _real_ piece of work. Kuon doesn't make promises he doesn't intend to keep. He's complex, and he changes all the time, but he's doing everything he can to be the best person he could possibly be, including his interactions with me."

"You. barely. know him!"

"No, I barely know _you_ , Sho."

"What is _that_ supposed to mean?" He demands, leaning in her face almost as much as she was to him.

"It _means_ , I spent so much time pinning after you, excusing your misdeeds, imagining some happy life with you, so blinded by my ideals for you that I hardly knew who you were at all. I know I was stupid back then, but make no mistake Sho-ta-ro, I am not so blind anymore. I know what I want, and I know what I don't want. I don't let people walk over me, and I tell my boyfriend when he upsets me. The kicker: he actually cares! How bizarre is that? Oh wait, it's not! It's called being a caring and curteous person. Kuon is a gentleman, unlike _some_ people."

"Ha, so that's what this is all about! I get it now. You've reflected that facade of your pinhead actor onto this guy because you realized he would never go for someone as pathetic as you! You're so simple, Kyoko. Just give up and go home. At least you would be useful there." Kyoko glared at him as her eyes stung. It wasn't like she bieved any of the bullshit that came from his mouth, but it still hurt for someone to call her useless.

"You... Don't know... anything!" She spat. The singer froze up as he saw the tears prickling at the corners of her eyes. Kyoko snatched her phone away from his stunned hand and pushed him away in a second before running out of the private room and upstairs to her bedroom. The okami startled as she saw the young actress shooting up the steps in twos.

"Kyoko?" She called with concern before looking to the Toshio, the man simply looking to the door of the private room. Perhaps it was a lovers quarrel or something?

* * *

"Father?" Kyoko spoke softly into the phone. It said it was still connected, but the line was currently silent. "Father, are you there?"

"Kyoko! I'm here! Are you okay? It sounded really bad. I used Julie's phone to try and call Lory. Did that person do anything to you? If he did, so help me...!"

"I'm fine father." She gave a hallow laugh before rubbing at her eyes, a few complex emotions spilling out. She was hurt and frustrated with Sho, confused and worried about the future of her relationship, and so, so happy to have someone care so much about her.

"You don't sound fine. Come on, a son shouldn't keep secrets from his father." He coaxed softly.

"And yet father keeps lots of secrets of his own." Kyoko retorts. Kuu fell silent for a moment.

"I... what did you find out?" He seemed timid all of a sudden, possibly worried about how things may have been discovered and what it would mean for the Hizuri household. Kyoko smiled lightly.

"Well, I found out that Kuon is very easily embarrassed by my questions."

"Oh?... Wait! K-Kuon? I..."

"It's okay, father, he told me on his own." Kyoko giggled, already feeling better after being on the phone with him a little bit.

"He... he did? How? _When_? What's going on?"

"Well..., that's actually why boss wanted me to call you. There's a lot I have to tell you about the past few months... and a little about a short period of my childhood."

* * *

Kanae was not happy. She had been admittedly a bit bored while waiting to go to Kyoko's, but getting an urgent call from the company president was not how she would have liked to remedy that, lest not with the subject of the emergency.

She was glad she already had her bag packed when she got the call, Lory's quiet assistant pulling up in front of her place only a couple minutes later. She didn't even care that he seemed to be driving a bit over the speed limit, the girl herself bolting out as soon as the car was nearly at a stop in front of the Darumaya.

She didn't care for how clueless the owners seemed to be of the situation, the older woman talking calmly and happily to Sho as the brat claimed Kyoko was just upset because she didn't agree with him and was unwilling to listen to his perspective.

"Sometimes its best to cool our heads and come back to a situation later." The Okami was stating. Sho looked like he was about to respond, but Kanae didn't care to hear it.

"Sometimes its best if rats aren't welcomed into a restaurant." Kanae practically growled out. The okami's eyes widened with shock and confusion, looking between the two teens quickly.

"Who are you?" Sho asked, glancing up and down her form. She was pretty nice to look at actually, a little small in the bust but nice to look at overall, though he could swear he saw her _somewhere_ before. He just couldn't quite place where.

"I'm the exterminator. Get out."

"Miss Kanae!" The woman gasped scandalously. Kanae ignored her, leveling a fierce glare on the singer.

"I'm a welcomed guest here. You can't kick me out of someone else's place." Sho practically laughed at her.

"I'll pull you out by force if I have to. Leave. Now!"

"Kanae-chan, what on earth-"

"I'm not going anywhere." Sho stayed coolly. Kanae has enough. Marching up to him, the boy looked at her oddly until she bent down and grabbed his ear in one fluid motion. "Ow! What the hell?" Sho hollered as she tugged him to stand. "Let me go! Hey!" Kanae ignored the overgrown brat's complaints as she pulled him out the front door and used her grip on his ear to force him tumbling forward and to the ground. He hissed as he turned to glare at her, one hand gripping his abused ear. "You can't kick me out. Even if you try and force me out now, this isn't your place. I'll be back!" He threatened as he got to his feet.

"Moko-san!" Kanae braced herself as Kyoko came running out after them, barreling into the older girl's side. Sho sent Kanae a smirk, giving away his intent to rile Kyoko up all over again.

"Wow, Kyoko, it looks like you don't only throw yourself at strange men, but violent women as well." Kanae could almost audibly hear something snap as Kyoko glared at the singer, the boy's grin only widening as he clearly saw his words take hold of her. The older girl was having none of it, shoving Sho as Kyoko opened her mouth and effectivly cutting short whatever retort she had been planning on using. Instead, Kyoko now stood with her mouth wide open as Kanae gripped the taller boy's shirt, tugging him down to eye level with her.

"Don't mess with her!" She yelled in his face, not caring about he attention she was getting from the late night passerbys. "Don't come near her. Don't talk to her. Don't even speak. Her. Name." Kanae hissed, jabbing a finger into the boy's chest as her other hand held his shirt in place.

"Or what?" Sho challenged with a sneer, raising his nose to look down at her.

"Or I'm afraid that President Lory will have to take measures to ensure it." Ruto spoke up suddenly. Sho whipped around to look at the man. When did _he_ get there? "You don't want to get our company president involved Fuwa-san." He warns. Sho sized the man up for a moment, starting to feel a bit nervous for some reason. Kanae stood her ground firmly, watching the boy hesitate for a moment before straightening up.

"I'm not the one you should be pushing away from her, you know. She's stupid and easily tricked. Your president will look into that foreigner that popped up out of nowhere if he really cares about her so much. She also has some guy conning her into thinking he's her father or something. I'm not the bad guy here." He insisted. When the strange dark man and the fuming beauty didn't respond with more than firm gazes, Sho backed up a few steps toward his car, his eyes flicking to Kyoko instead. He felt annoyed and angry when he found her more interested in her phone, smiling all sweetly as she typed out a message. "Fine, be a bunch of idiots! Just don't come crying to me when Kyoko's been used and scammed and heartbroken! What a bunch of thick-sculled idiots!" He cried out as he yanked open the car door and got in. The driver looked a bit confused but didn't say anything other than a small goodbye before getting in and driving them off.

Kyoko let out a soft sigh as her body finally seemed to release its tension, the girl sagging lightly as she glanced up at Lory's assistant and her best friend. The two looked back to her quietly, the quiet man giving a small smile of support.

"Thank you for coming to help me, you two." Kyoko said softly. The assistant gave a quick but curteous bow.

"It was our pleasure. I will inform Lory that you are safe and well. Good night." He said before heading off to his own vehicle. Kyoko turned to Kanae and jumped into hugging her right away.

"Moko! You came to my rescue! But... how did you know? Super amazing friend bond?" Kanae tolerated the overly affectionate hug from the girl, considering the current circumstances.

"Mo, don't be an idiot. President Lory called me to tell me you were possibly in trouble and his assistant was coming to drive me to your place. I didn't know someone could drive so fast yet so safe." she shook her head in wonder for a moment before returning to the subject at hand. "Anyway, you're alright? All I know is that President got a distressed call from Hizuri-san, saying it sounded like you had gotten caught up in a fight with some guy, though I could tell just from that much that it must be Fuwa." she explained while looking Kyoko over worriedly. The younger girl smiled and nodded, happy to know she had so many people caring about her.

"My wrist feels a little sore from where Sho grabbed it a bit too tightly, but nothing else really happened other than our usual banter." she says, rubbing the wrist in question with her hand. Kanae instantly went for it, grabbing Kyoko's hand and holding it up as she examined the dainty wrist with a frown. Kyoko flinched lightly, but was too happy about her friend's concern to try and pull it away.

"We'll put some ice on it just in case. You don't want to get a bruise if you can help it. He really didn't try anything else?" Kyoko shook her head.

"Nothing but try to insult the people I care about." she replied happily as Kanae lead her back inside. The Okami and Toshio turned to look at them as they walked in, freezing when Kanae asked for ice and told them why they needed.

"I... I'm so sorry, Kyoko-chan. I had no idea... I'm so sorry." The okami apologized as she prepared the small ice pack. Kyoko kept assuring her that it was fine, that it was her own problems and private business, so there was really no way they could have known. Kanae's spite made her silently happy to see the couple upset over their misunderstanding of Kyoko's situation. She wouldn't condemn them, but she was pleased to see that they felt bad for enabling that cockroach. The toshio looked particularly unhappy, like he might hunt Sho down and butcher him. Kanae sincerely wished that he would. If he didn't, maybe she could convince Ren? Or... that was a character or something right? And a very passive one at that. Maybe... Kuon was it? Perhaps she could get him to do something about it. Maybe even Lory or his assistant.

She shook her head to clear her thoughts as they headed up to Kyoko's room. It was probably best to leave their protection to Lory. She could at least talk to him about it, though. She couldn't always so easily come to Kyoko's aid.

.

* * *

.

.

"I think your company president is right, dear. This really isn't a very secure place. We're still so very sorry for putting you through that. We should have realized you were uncomfortable with him." The okami states, holding Kyoko's hands gently. Yashiro finished putting Kyoko's measly belongings in the trunk before walking over and adjusting his glasses.

"It really wasn't something you should blame yourself for. It's true that we grew up together, so I know that he must have been very charming. He's very good at justifying himself to suit whatever he wants to do." she explained.

"Well, Fuwa isn't the only person you'll be needing to look out for anymore. People are going to be recognizing you a lot more often now, both for your work and for the tabloids." Yashiro explained as he pulled on a glove and fished out his phone. Okami looked to Kyoko with a bit of concern.

"Is it really true that you started dating a foreigner?" the older woman asked, a bit concerned as her husband's frown deepened behind her. Kyoko blushed lightly and as squeezed the hands holding hers.

"Well, kind of. He is partially japanese, but it's not really that big of a deal, where he came from. I can promise you that he's a good man. He's been through a lot, and has a lot of things he's had to overcome from such a young age, but he cares for me, and he loves me, and his parents... Well, I'll just say that they're all very good and wonderful people, even though they're a bit private on most things." she explained a bit vaguely. She loved the Darumaya couple, but she couldn't go spewing other people's secrets, no matter how involved she was.

The okami still looked a bit concerned, but she gave a relenting nod as she slowly released Kyoko's right hand in favor of holding her right in both, patting the back gently in reassurance.

"At least we know you have wonderful friends that will look after you, and that your president also takes great care of you. Come visit us again any time, alright?" Kyoko nodded eagerly.

"I plan on it." she states before hugging the woman firmly. She gave a respectful bow to the toshio before she got into the car with Yashiro, heading off to her new apartment provided by President Lory.

.

.

* * *

.

"It's not that far from my place." Ren observed as he walked in, stepping out of his shoes in the front door as he looked around Kyoko's new apartment. Yashiro smiled and adjusted his glasses as he came from the kitchen.

"I made sure it wasn't something she would find too spacious and expensive, seeing as she insists on paying the president for her residence under his name, yet it's close enough that you two will have no trouble going to see one another. Just be sure not to make it overly obvious by walking the path all the time." the manager said with a giddy grin. Ren ignored that last comment as he looked over to the bedroom, the door left open as Kyoko went about unpacking the few things she had. It was mostly clothes, though there were a few small things she had accumulated ever since she joined showbiz. Yashiro nudged Ren with his elbow encouragingly. "I'm going to return to unpacking the new supplies for the kitchen. Go help her unpack the bedroom and bathroom." he says with a wink before walking back into the kitchen. Ren sighed and shook his head at the manager but ultimately headed toward the desired room, feeling warm just from seeing her move about and putting things away. He knew it wasn't really considered fashionable, but he loved when she wore her modest blouses and long flowing skirts. She looked so homely and warm. It certainly helped that he knew she had wonderfully soft skin hiding underneath, skin that only he was allowed to touch in their private lives.

"The president really didn't need to get me need bed sheets and towels and such. I can buy my own linen." Kyoko grumbled as she smoothed the sheet onto the bed. "I didn't really need a bed either. A futon would have sufficed. That's what I'm used to using, and using a futon would have allowed me to stay in an even smaller place, though this place is surprisingly cheep already, all things considered." She grumbled on. Ren couldn't help but chuckle. He didn't doubt that Lory gave her a significantly discounted price without her knowledge.

"What about when I want to spend the night?" Ren teased with a smirk and a glint in his eyes. Kyoko startled at his voice, looking up quickly.

"Ts-... C-Corn! When did you get here? Where's Yashiro-san?" She asked quickly, a bit flustered to see him there suddenly. Ren jabbed his thumb in the direction of the kitchen.

"Yuki's unpacking your cooking supplies for you, since he's sure that you'll be using them all fairly quickly. I just got here a minute or so ago. Yashiro left the door unlocked for me." he explained. Kyoko nodded her understanding before fishing in her pocket and pulling out a ring with two keys on it, quickly slipping one off before holding it out fir him.

"I can give you this now, then. I have a copy of yours, so you can hold onto my spare." she tells him. Ren's eyes widened with surprise, but he didn't hesitate to accept the little key, quickly putting it on his own chain.

"You don't have to, you know?" he tells her even as he was busy attaching it. Kyoko giggled as she realized he was still trying to be considerate even as his own eagerness shown through in his actions.

"I know, but it only feels right. I want you to have it." she says happily as she threw the comforter onto the bed. "As for you spending the night, I do prefer if you ask first... Is this bed even big enough for you?" she asked, eyeing him suspiciously. This was a two-person bed, but his own bed was _huge_. Ren gave one of his stupid shrugs, which she was starting to learn to mostly ignore by this point.

"Honestly, most beds don't fit me very well. They tend to be a bit... short." Kyoko let out a little snort at that as he continued. "It's not much of a problem, though. After so many years, eventually you either get used to it or find a way to deal with it by sleeping in various ways. My legs do bend, you know." he said with a teasing smirk. Kyoko rolled her eyes at him.

"I'll let you deal with it then. My bed isn't always open like yours, but you can have my couch whenever you want. Just make sure I know when you're coming over." she says as she threw the pillows at the headboard, both falling in place perfectly.

"Alright, the kitchen is all unpacked, and I have a copy of both your schedules for the week printed out and left on the counter. I have a couple more things left to take care of at the office, so I'll see you two in the morning. I'll message you both with the specifics around ten." Yashio says as he walked in, barely containing his smile. Kyoko blushed as she glanced to Ren. It almost sounded like they were going to be living together now. Their places were only a short walk from one another, but she didn't think sh should be going as far as living together just yet. It ad been suggested by Lory and Yashiro in a previous meeting, but it seemed her denial of such arrangements was only barely taken into consideration.

"Drive safe." Ren called to their manager, the bespectacled man simply waving and calling his goodbye as he stepped out the door and left the two celebrities alone.

The silence settled in quick and heavy, causing Kyoko to blush and fidget next to her boyfriend.

"So um... welcome to my new home?" she said uncertainly, giving a cute little smile up at him. Ren chuckled and gently pulled her into his arms, kissing the top of her head lovingly.

"Welcome home, darling." his voice was low, vibrating in his chest and sending thrills up her spine. Kyoko buried her face in his chest, not entirely sure why she felt so thrilled to be alone with him all of a sudden. It wasn't like they had never been alone before. They had done plenty of intimate things in his place already, but this was somehow different. It was like having him in her own place made her hyper aware of their situation.

"Corn?" she called from his chest, thrilled once again as she felt the vibrations from his answering hum. "Um... would you like to stay for dinner? Yashiro helped be pick up some groceries on the way here." she offered timidly. Ren nuzzled her hair, slowly trailing down to her ear and nuzzling his nose in the space behind it. She shied from him, but didn't push him away, encouraging his desires.

"Only if I can have a snack first." he bartered. Kyoko felt so incredibly hot, her hands fisting into his shirt tightly as she sucked in a shaky breath.

"You won't stay if you can't have me?" she asked, sounding so incredibly sad. Ren's arms tightened around her marginally.

"Of course I would, but I can't guarantee that I'll eat." he hums before blowing gently on her ear. Kyoko shivered and pressed her body up against his, chewing her lip as she felt his slowly growing bulge between them.

"Even if I eat in front of you?"

"Mmmm... It might look more tempting between _your_ lips." he was driving her mad with that low rumbling tone of his. Her little pink tongue darted out between her lips, and then she was standing up on her tippy-toes as she strained to reach his lips. He eagerly complied, slowly moving their lips together as they kissed and explored, feeling the others' mouth with their tongues. Kyoko moaned deeply as her arms snaked around his neck, sucking eagerly on his bottom lip before pushing her tongue back into his mouth, taking dominance for a moment before he pushed back. She could feel his hands on her, sliding around to feel every inch of her back, shoulders, sides, hips, butt. He was everywhere, and she absolutely loved it.

She pulled away with a gasp when he squeezed a tiny sensitive spot on the underside of her ass, her body pressing into his needfully as her hands clenched at his back.

"Ren~!" she moaned out, the man releasing a low growl of desire in response. "Mmm, I think I'm starting to see why you seem so addicted to these things." she admits breathlessly.

"I'm addicted to you." he groans in her ear, causing a needy little sigh to trail from her.

"I want to feel more of you." a long moan fell from his lips as he buried his face in her neck, licking and kissing the spot repeatedly.

"Don't do this to me, Kyoko. It's hard enough to control myself with you as it is."

"Yeah, I can feel just how **hard** it is." she teased as she pressed into the firm piece between them. Ren let out another low moan, his hands gripping each of her butt cheeks before he ground into her once. The two of them released a duet of moans and pants as he rolled his hips against her again and again.

"Do you want to try something new?" he asked, a bit breathless as he slowed the grinding.

"I want to do just about anything you'll let me." she answered honestly. Ren let out a light curse as he his his face in her neck again.

" **Fuck** , you make this so difficult to control." he groaned out before slowly releasing her and pulling away. She tried to cling to him, but he gently took her elbows in his hands. "We'll have to get on your nicely made bed for it... or the couch." he warns. Kyoko let out a laugh and quickly crawled on the bed.

"Come on, fairy boy. I can always remake the bed if needed." she teased. Ren rolled his eyes with a smile before undoing his pants and shoving them off. Kyoko chewed her lip with a grin as she raked her eyes over his form. He looked delectable, straining against his underwear like that.

Ren crawled onto the bed with her and laid down before motioning her to come to him. She didn't wait even a single second to obey, sliding up next to him and smoother her hand over his chest slowly, teasing the fabric of his shirt with slow circles of her finger tip.

"It's probably going to feel a little weird, but sit on my chest, facing away." he explained, patting his chest in indication. She gave him an odd look but complied, relaxing a bit as she felt his fingers start to smooth little circles on her hips. "That's it. Lean forward, and press your hips into my face." Kyoko looked back at him like he was crazy, in which he only chuckled and gripped her hips lightly. "Come on, we have to trust each other, remember?" Kyoko let out a soft hum of uncertainty as she blushed and did as he instructed, noticing quietly that it put his twitching member right in her view, stretching the fabric of his boxer-briefs and crating a tiny little damp spot where she knew the tip to be.

Kyoko tried not to focus too much on the hands she felt gliding over her ass and hips, sliding down her legs before finding the end of her skirt and pushing it up to reveal her soft blue panties to him. She tried not to think about how warm his hands were as they came into contact with her bare skin, gliding over her thighs and gripping her butt cheeks lightly, but it just felt too good to ignore as it sent little shocks of pleasure through her.

"Wow Kyoko, you're already so wet." Ren commented as she felt his thumb press and rub at the damp spot, rubbing at her pussy lips through her panties. Kyoko let out a little cry of pleasure as her hips instinctively pressed backward into his hand. "Don't worry, I won't let you suffer long." Ren promised before his hands pulled her hips. Kyoko gasped and shivered as she felt his mouth on her through her panties, his warm tongue gliding along the small groove and his lips occasionally sucking at her. She panted and squirmed, pressing more against him and allowing her face to push down into his underwear-covered shaft. Ren moaned into her as he continued to please her through her underwear, sending her gasping and groaning as she squirmed against him. Determined to return the favor a bit, she reached over and gripped him through the fabric of his own underwear, pleased with the responding moan against her privates. "That's it," Ren moaned out before giving another lick to the wet panties before him, "Just do as you like, and I'll do as I like." he said before hooking his fingers into the hem of her panties, pulling them down and exposing her glistening pusy to him. Kyoko was fairly sure she understood the point of this now, chewing her lip eagerly as she freed his member from the waist band. It bounced and bobbed before her, pre-cum dripping lightly from the tip and prompting her to lick it off with the tip of her tongue. Ren jolted lightly under her, letting out a low groan that quickly became muffled by her hips pressing backward into his face. She moaned as she felt his mouth start licking and sucking at her newly exposed entrance. It felt so much better without the fabric in the way!

She quickly went to work, gripping his shaft and licking along the length with vigor. Ren responded with generous retribution, the two of them quickly dissolving into a tangle of moans and pants as they pleased one another. Kyoko wasn't really sure why she was so surprised when she felt his tongue slide into her, but it had her moaning uncontrollably as she pressed back into him more forcefully, eager to have him invade her private entrance as much as possible with his tongue.

"Ren! Ah! It... It feels good!" she cried out, moaning when he responded with another low hum deep in her pussy. He was so overwhelming! She felt like she was loosing some kind of battle! Determined to push past her haze of pleasure, she began stroking and licking his dick hungrily, pleased with every little pause and moan she pulled out of him with her efforts. She gasped and arched as she felt one of his fingers slowly slip into her, wiggling about deep in her cavern and making her struggle to grasp hold of her sanity once again. _'This is a game for two!'_ she thinks with determination. Ren paused and jolted once again as he felt the head of his penis slip into her warm mouth. Her smooth little tongue flicked and wiggled against him, and then he was sliding in deeper, deeper. He moaned loudly as his hands gripped her hips, using all his willpower to refrain from bucking up into her. He couldn't do that, not to her.

Kyoko bobbed her head on him slowly, letting the piece slide to her throat before pulling to her lips again and again. Curiously, it felt much smoother than before. She had given her boyfriend a couple of blowjobs since her first one, but she hadn't been able to get it all the way in without gagging. Was it the angle? Slowly, she steadied herself before pushing forward again, concentrating on holding back her gag reflex and swallowing with a bit of difficulty. Slowly, she felt him slide further and further into her throat until she finally reached the base. Ren let out a long moan as his hands gripped her thighs, shaking slightly as he panted heavily and she slid back to allow herself to breath again, holding him in her mouth,

"K-Kyoko." he moaned her name almost pleadingly, and she relished the sound. Pleased with the effect on him, she pushed forward again, rocking her body to slide him in and out of her throat, wiggling her tongue against the shaft as her mouth salivated to accommodate all the movement in it. Ren moaned loudly, then pulled her hips down as if to muffle himself with her private area. She moaned at the feeling as felt his hips buck up. She was happy to find it hadn't caused her too much trouble aside from having to steady herself again, returning to rocking and bobbing as she drooled over his cock. Ren began licking at her hungrily again, moaning and panting through his nose as he tried to keep his head. He felt like he was quickly loosing this battle, however. Kyoko released him suddenly as she felt his finger plunge into her again, thrusting, wiggling, twisting. She cried out and jerked her hips as her body heated and tingled, centered around her core as she felt her body release an orgasm, nectar flowing to Ren's lapping tongue as he continued to tease her entrance with his finger.

Her body was shivering from it's release, but she wasn't about to stop. She had found something amazing, and she wasn't giving it up now. She pulled her boyfriend's dick back into her mouth and began all over again, licking and drooling as she bobbed her head on him, moaning as he fingered her and licked up her flowing juices. She swallowed him down again, listening to his pleasured moan before going at it again, rocking as she felt him slide in and out of her throat.

"Ky-Kyoko," Ren moaned out her name again, his thumb rubbing at her clit as he pulled his face away, "Kyoko, I'm close." he warned. Kyoko only moaned and sped up, rocking backward into his skillful fingers, then forward to allow his dick to push deep into her throat. Ren moaned and gripped her thigh as he slid his finger out of her, a breathless chuckle escaping him as she noticeably tried to follow it with her hips. She wasn't left wanting for long, feeling her entrance stretch a bit as he entered a second finger. She moaned as she rocked with renewed vigor, closing her eyes as she sucked and thrust backwards into his hand. She could almost imagine that it was him pounding into her, and she was a bit surprised at how much she truly felt the desire grow at that thought. "A-almost!" Ren warned as he thrust and wiggled his fingers deep inside her. Kyoko cried out around him, muffled by the piece deep in her throat and coming out as more of a muffled scream as she came on his hand a second time. Ren's hips jerked upward again, and this time Kyoko felt warm liquid pour down her throat, making her pull away and cough as she tried to breath again. Ren pat her back that was still facing him, the motion just a little awkward from their current position.

"Are you alright?" he asked worriedly. Kyoko nodded through a couple more coughs as she twisted to peek at him, wiping at her mouth as he took in her rosy red cheeks. God, she was so beautiful and amazing. Slowly, she slipped down to cuddle up to his side, hiding her face in his armpit timidly.

"Did I... do okay?" she asked timidly. Ren gently raised her chin, smiling lovingly down at her.

"There are no rules on how you have to pleasure your partner. Nevertheless, I can't say that you did anything less than amazing." he promised before kissing the top of her head. Kyoko smiled and blushed darker as she snuggled up more firmly to him.

"You felt really amazing too." she said softly. Ren hummed lightly and shifted so he could wrap her up in his arms.

"I'm glad. I would hate to give you anything less."

"As if you could."

"Never for you."

"I love you."

"I love you more." He claimed, getting a playful smack on the chest from her. He chuckled and held her tighter, nuzzling her hair happily. He was glad she finally had her own place, somewhere more secure and that didn't allow that guy to mess with her whenever he pleased. He was even more glad that he could come help her so much easier now. He supposed he should be just a little thankful to Fuwa for acting out like the child he was.

* * *

 _Thank you for your continued support and patience of this FF. Next time, we'll learn a little more about the new love-me member._  
 _I do have a little question. I don't really know much about writing songs. I know they typically follow poetry or something, and a lot of them rhyme?_  
 _In any case, Love-Me#4 is a singer and song writer, so I can go about her things in various ways._

 _1)use ready-made songs and use them as if the character wrote them, siting the true artist in the authors notes_  
 _-I don't particularly agree with this one, as it seems cheep and a bit lazy, but this IS a fanfiction, so maybe I shouldn't think too hard about it_

 _2)Mention the premise of the songs, but forgo actually writing them_  
 _-right now, this is what I'm leaning towards, as it's the least hassle, but I don't know how much that would take from the experience for you readers_

 _3)Suck it up and write the songs, even though they might (probably) come out crappy_

 _4)Ask you readers to send me original works of your own through PMs_  
 _-I would give credit to who evers' I use, but I don't really see anyone wanting to spend time and effort for something as small as my fanfiction_

 _Author Responses_

 _Hairy Friend- I hope you enjoyed this one as much as the last. It's okay to make comments on Aika. First impressions/introductions are important on any character. I think it's very interesting to see how people react to characters. She's not meant to be super likable or anything. She's meant to be a girl reacting to things based off the backstory I gave her. I hope you're looking forward to next chapter, when we get to know a little more about her._

 _Jenndifurry- sorry about the line breaks. I went back and fixed it, but just about all of last chapter was written on my phone, which for some reason doesn't lke the line breaks. :/ I hope this one was better for you._

 _MWEH-I have a tendency to make characters simply because I feel like there needs to be another person around. I will admit that I don't have any major plans for her aside from exploring another kind of Love-Me member and why they would be there, but that isn't to say that something can't happen in the future that will have her make more of an impact. *shrugs* Home you're looking forward to the next chapter for her._

 _wolfdancer333- thank you so much for your comment. I could just about feel the energy radiating off of it. I hope you enjoy future chapters_

 _Guest- It is more than okay for you to dislike Aika. I don't make characters for them to be liked. I make them to be realistic and emotional, to explore things we don't always get to see into. I really just gave her a backstory and let her loose in the world. I hadn't planned for her to get riled up, but if you remember "Love" is pretty much a taboo word for Love-me members, especially when they first joined and have not undergone much heeling yet._  
 _As for getting turned on, I take that as a compliment. It means I did a good job in writing out the scenes and getting across the emotions and feelings throughout. I feel like a sacumbus of writing or something, haha. I sincerely hope this one had a similar effect._

 _puffinzero- I hope this chapter lived up to your expectations. Sho's a kid, but he's not... bad... I think. IDK, the last several chapters that he was present really had me questioning that statement. I want him to become a good person, but first he needs to stop seeing Kyoko as property. As for Kyoko using her vibrator on Ren... maybe one day? I'd have to ask around more on how it effects other guys. The only reference I currently have is my own, and it didn't really have an effect, though I didn't really try EVERYTHING, so maybe I just need to experiment more. I've looked into Yaoi some times, but... those aren't always very accurate with a lot of things. Most echi things in mangas and Anime aren't, though. I'm always open to hearing new information though, so if people are ever willing to share, my ears (eyes?) are always open._

 _See you all next chapter_


	11. Chapter 11

_Kyoko's life has calmed down considerably ever since she moved into her own place, but things are never perfect in this world._ _There will always be something that isn't quite right or needs to be addressed._

 _I know a lot of you hate Sho. He's a manipulative slime-ball that knows just how to steer things the way he likes, but not all characters are meant to be liked. I'd go so far as to say that despicable characters are what allows the good to really shine through. It would be nice to just kill him off, but the easy way out doesn't make for good writing, so expect to be enraged in the future, because pests are annoyingly persistent._

 _Enjoy_

* * *

"Kyoko-chan's birthday is coming up pretty quickly, you know." Yashiro hinted at as he walked with Ren into LME. The actor slid his gaze down to his manager quietly for a moment, already knowing what the man was up to.

"There's still a couple months, but yes I suppose it is coming fairly quickly." He stated slowly. Yashiro's mouth split into a grin. ' _Here it comes_ '.

"Have you thought about what you're going to get her?" The manager pried shamelessly. Ren could only imagine how much worse this teasing could be if he knew the couple's promise to talk about their boundaries again with this event. He quietly shoved the thought aside for the time being.

"I have a number of ideas, but I'm still trying to figure out which one would be best." With that, the conversation seemed to close. Yashiro didn't mind it. He already had his favorite couple together. As long as they were happy together, he was happy. He just liked to poke fun at Ren every now and then. It was too fun.

Yashiro was practically bouncing as they walked to the Love-Me room. Kyoko had insisted on staying there until it was officially out to the public that she was indeed dating. Leaving now would only fuel the publicity, and staying helped keep the speculation to a minimum for now. She honestly probably shouldn't have even admitted her relationship to Sho, but she just couldn't stand him talking crap about the people she cared about. Talking about her was one thing. She couldn't care less what that guy thought anymore, but talking about Father and Kuon that way? She was not going to let that kind of thing slide. Kanae looked up from her phone as the two men entered, her eyes shifting over to their newest love-me member quietly. Yashiro had only had a small brush-in with her when she first arrived, and Ren hadn't met the girl at all yet. After that little fit she had last time men came up... the second love-me member was a bit concerned about how she would react to two men coming into the room. Thankfully, and perhaps a bit surprisingly, Aika simply sized the two men up for a moment before going back to her filing work, completely undisturbed.

"Good evening love-me girls. Good evening Kyoko-chan, ready to head out?" Yashiro asked as the girl in question quickly picked up her bag and nodded happily. "Good, here are the new offers I received for you today. You can give them a quick peak on the road if you like." he explained as he handed a stack of four folders to her, each labeled for their respective offer. Kyoko perked up at the top one instantly.

"The Mermaid's Dive? I got such a magical offer?" she asked eagerly, her bright and happy smile falling when she saw Yashiro and Ren cringe and look to her pitifully.

"Sorry, Kyoko-chan, but it's not as magical as you may think. I knew it would catch your interest, so I went ahead and got a copy of the book it takes after." Yashiro explained as he fished out a paperback from his bag, holding it out to her. On the cover, she could already see that the mermaid in question was in for a painful experience. She looked like she was drowning rather than swimming or diving happily, hands clawing at her throat as bloodshot eyes gazed at a barely visible bright spot in the corner of the cover. On top of the pained and drowning expression, she wasn't breathtakingly beautiful, but almost monstrous in appearance, black irises, scaly skin, an eel-like tail, sharp nails, and razor sharp teeth lining her openly gasping mouth. Kyoko's eyes watered at just the sight of it all.

"It... it's another evil role?" she asked sadly. Ren smiled apologetically as he saw her downtrodden mood.

"It's a tragedy. From what I understand, the writer took inspiration from the witch trials of the past, where victims of prosecution were bound and tossed in the water to see if it would reject them or something. Unfortunately, that's also a good way to drown someone." he explained. Yashiro nodded beside him.

"The main character actually had abilities of some sort and was betrayed by her lover when he found out. This resulted in her being put under trial by water, and she ended up cursed in her attempts at survival. You would be acting as one of the many that came after her, ones that she helped to save through the same curse." the manager elaborated. He had known it would be handy to look into this particular one due to Kyoko's usual interests. It was a shame that it ended up being one of the darker versions of fairy-tales, but those were the kinds of roles Kyoko would be getting until she expanded her horizons a _lot_ more. Aika gave a snort, drawing the attention of the room.

"What? It's ridiculous. What did she expect, trusting a man like that?" the girl rolled her eyes in annoyance. The two men frowned with concern as they looked to the other two love-me girls in the room. Kanae was busy scowling at the culprit, so Kyoko took on the task of explaining, albeit timidly.

"Hasegawa-san... doesn't seem to think too highly of men." she explained, shuffling her feet lightly. Ren felt a bit concerned about Kyoko's body language, indicating that something had happened on the subject to upset her. He would have to address it later, however.

"That's understandable." the actor stated instead, getting looks of shock from all of them. He held up his hands in surrender at the odd looks they started to develop toward him. "I don't think it's a good idea to go about with that kind of cold approach, but it's not necessarily uncommon. There's a reason the president made the love-me section, and a reason why it's mostly girls that enter this section."

"They're all girls, Ren." Yashiro corrected. The actor gave a shrug, annoying Kyoko and raising Kanae's eyebrows.

"For the time being, sure, but I don't see President Lory being biased about it should the opportunity arise. The point is, us men are known to cause problems in the emotional field. There are entire movies and dramas centered around girls who hate men for various reasons. It's easy to imagine that it relates to a number of people in the real world." Yashiro blinked a few times and adjusted his glasses on his nose as he gathered himself.

"I see. Well then, we're very sorry for disturbing your peace, Miss Hasegawa. Good day." the manager stated before bowing and heading out of the room. Ren gave a courteous goodbye before steering Kyoko out as well, the girl merrily giving her own farewell before returning her attention to the offers and book as they walked.

"So, if the story is a tragedy, that means the main character will die at the end?" she asked as she turned the book over to look at the back.

"Not necessarily," Yashiro corrected ahead of her, glancing back to make sure she had heard him, "That's a typical end for a tragedy, but it could also end in a type of eternal torture or retribution. This is a person being cursed into a demon, so it could likely end in her endlessly wandering or never reaching fulfillment, living a life of regret, remorse, pain, or any number of things." Kyoko pursed her lips lightly as she took the information in, flipping through the book quietly for a moment. There were a few small illustrations put in, depicting significant moments of the story, but they didn't give her any hints of the character's ultimate fate.

"But there's no happy ending." She finally concluded. Ren and Yashiro nodded somewhat solemnly as they let her contemplate this particular offer.

"Ren also got an offer from a tragedy, from the same author in fact, though it's only a single film instead of a short series like that one." Kyoko's head snapped up in shock at that.

"Really? Does this author write nothing but tragedies?" she asked with an unhappy look on her face before slipping into the car as the actor held the door open for her. The other two joined in their respective seats before Yashiro responded.

"No, actually. The series he's most well known for has a lot of painful and tragic elements to it, but they mostly focus on growth and healing in the mists of the toughest of times." he explained.

"I don't think the offer I got was necessarily a tragedy, though." Ren explained, instantly pulling Kyoko's attention back to him. "It starts out with the death of the main character, a young girl at that, but the God of Death took pity on her and gave her a new life. In exchange, she must aid him in guiding the dead for eternity. I had to meet with President Lory for the job, because they had actually been looking for Cain Heel." He explained. Kyoko's eyes bugged at that news.

"Did you take it?" Kyoko asked, anxious to hear the verdict. Ren shook his head and she felt a mixture of relief and disappointment. "I guess that role was really hard on you..." she amended softly. Ren gave a small smile and reached out, petting her hair softly until she looked back to him.

"That role was difficult because of who I had to become. The Reaper in this one seems like a fairly decent character, actually." Ren admitted thoughtfully. It warmed his heart to see his girlfriend thinking about him and worried over his well-being. He still couldn't figure out how he had gotten so lucky.

"So why didnt you take the job?" She asked incredulously.

"For lots of reasons, but the main ones were because Cain was created for the BJ project, and because they were focassing a lot on the appearance rather than my actual acting record. I think I could have done a good job of course, but I'm being a little selfish in wanting to be requested because of ability rather than just aperances. Things like that are so easily fixed by makeup and image manipulation after all.

"The president and Director Konoe gave their permission, but it didn't feel right to raise Cain from his grave for something unrelated to Tragic Marker. They'll be given the information of the makeup team in charge of BJ, though. Worst case, they can just do CGI to get the look and effect that they want." Kyoko nodded thoughtfully at that. "It's not really our concern, though. What other jobs did you get?" Ren urged.

Kyoko's second offer was for a bratty sister of the main character, fueling the story to make the audience sympathize with the character more as she dealt with absent parents, the cold older sister, a boy that showed his interest by bullying her, and a longing for a boy that hardly noticed her presence. It was a fairly typical love drama, but Kyoko thought it might be interesting to try another sibling role, and this one would actually be professional and on camera.

The third offer was a PV for Sho's video, which Kyoko promptly tossed on the floor to throw away later, and the forth was for a roll as a haughty spirit that the main character has to deal with in his new home. She would get to pull all kinds of pranks, tease and make fun of him, and slowly warm up to him to help in the end.

"This one will give the most positive light to my acting ability." Kyoko observed, flipping through the demo script given to her for the job. "It's the most different from the roles I played in the past, though maybe a little similar to Momiji in a few aspects." She said, looking over to Ren. She was confused to see one of her folders in his hands, huffing in annoyance when she recognized it as the one she had tossed on the floor. "Tsuruga-san, you don't need to give that garbage even a second's glance." she told him, reaching out to take it. Ren moved the folder out of her gasp, continuing to read it.

"The writers did a good job with the script. Even if we don't need to give Fuwa any mind, his company certainly knows what their doing. I wonder how much he told them just to line it up with your interests." he stated. Kyoko rolled her eyes and finally plucked the folder out of his hands, returning it to the bottom of her pile.

"It doesn't matter, because I'm not taking it. I'm not letting him goad me any more." she huffed with a raise of her nose. Ren hummed lightly as he looked away.

"I heard he did a pretty good job of it when you faced him at the restaurant, though." he jabbed lightly. Kyoko snapped a fiery gaze to him in half a second.

"That was different! He was saying whatever he liked concerning the people I care about!" she defended, causing the man to peek back at her curiously.

"Oh?"

"Indeed!"

"Would I happen to be one of those people you were defending?" Kyoko huffed and looked away again, tightening her crossed her arms.

"And why would I defend someone that makes such cocky grins?" She grumbled out. Ren's grin only widened as he reached out and snaked his arms around her waist. Kyoko squealed as his fingers wiggled against her soft tummy, tickling her without mercy.

"Hey! Calm down back there, you two!" Yashiro warned, though he couldn't repress the giddy smile on his own face. He just loved seeing them so cute together.

* * *

"It's a bit weird, isn't it?" Chiori asked as she and Kanae hid around the corner from the main entrance. Kanae frowned lightly in reply, clearly annoyed.

"Not to mention, incredibly unprofessional. Does he think the people in the entertainment industry have so much free time on our hands that we can just send people off to him?"

"Do you think he's really her father?" Chiori wondered aloud. Kanae peeked back out at where the business-looking man was waiting, staring at his phone in one hand while the other shuffled his fingers impatiently on his knee. Before he could look up again, Kanae slipped back under the cover.

"I don't know, but I think we should take this matter to the president. Hasegawa Aika is pretty heavy on her hate for relations with men, even for the love-me section. If he _is_ her father, something tells me that it's not a very good relationship, and I can't throw someone to the wolves, no matter how bitchy." Chiori nodded her agreement before the two of them slipped off as quick as they could in search of their company president. They hadn't exactly been expecting to pass the girl of the hour, crouching behind a potted tree and furiously tapping at her phone. Love-me 2 and 3 looked to each-other to make sure they were seeing the same thing before shuffling over to crouch next to the girl.

"What the-... what are _you two_ doing here?" Aika bit out as the sound of a text being sent chimed from her phone.

"Trying to unravel a mystery." Chiori stated with a smile, placing a finger over her lips. Aika looked at her oddly as Kanae rolled her eyes.

"Some guy came in asking to see you." the older girl explained, watching for her reaction. Aika scoffed and went back to typing on her phone again, sending something fairly quickly this time.

"Yeah, I know, though he got here pretty fast. My sister sent me a warning a few minutes ago... you didn't lead him here, did you?" she peaked out from the plant, scanning the area before shrinking back to cover with a sigh of relief.

"We told him to wait while we see if you're in the building today." Chiori explained, gaining an approving nod from the girl. "Is he really your dad?" she asked, causing Aika to gag.

"Ugh, as if I'd accept that." when all she got were confused looks from the other two girls, she heaved a heavy sigh. "That man, if you can even call him that, decided to walk out on us months ago. He thinks he can just march back in and claim to be a father again? No way." she hissed out, sitting down against the wall like a pouting child. Chiori sent Kanae a worried look.

"How do you think President Takarada is going to react to this?" Chiori asked nervously. She had to think on that for a moment before she shook her head.

"He'd probably say that family is meant to stick together, and that you should be willing to accept your family that comes back to you." She still didn't like the girl for upsetting Kyoko needlessly, but even she could relate to family issues, especially ones where people just ran off and did as they pleased.

"That old man is either an idiot, or more naive than a newborn baby." Aika spat. The other two girls looked on with concern. This girl seemed pretty troubling to deal with.

"Still," Chiori starts slowly, "If he finds out, it's likely that he'll press the issue." Love-me #4 let out a harsh curse between her teeth. "It will probably be in our favor to confront President Takarada first, before he sees your father waiting in the front lobby." The girl looked far from pleased about the situation, but she finally agreed with a heavy sigh. Just her luck.

* * *

"Are you sure, Kyoko-chan? I can quickly drop Ren off at his job and sit at a nearby table here if you like." Yashiro offered outside the small cafe. The girl shook her head with a little smile.

"I'll be fine, Yashiro-san. Stop worrying so much. I already suspect what she wants to meet with me about." she assures. Yashiro peeked over at Ren, the actor leaning somewhat stiffly against the car as he waited. It was clear that he was also worried, but he wouldn't press against Kyoko's decision to accept her mother's invitation.

"If you're sure... just give me a call if you need me... or when you're ready to be picked up or... just call me." he urged. Kyoko giggled at Yashiro's mother-henning, giving a spirited bow before she slipped into the cafe. The manager heaved a heavy sigh as he trudged back to the car and got in as Ren slipped into the passenger's seat.

"...She's a strong girl. She'll be fine." Ren spoke up after a few minutes of silence. Yashioro nodded quietly. "She dealt with her last time on her own..." it instantly became apparent to the manager that Ren was trying to assure himself through this, disguising it as persuasion for him. Knowing that he had an ally in his concern for Kyoko eased Yashiro's nerves a bit, the older man relaxing his shoulders as a small smile pulled at his lips. "Maybe I should check on her after work tonight..."

"It'll be late, but I think I agree. I'll drop you off at her place instead. Do you need me to grab you a change of clothes between trips?"

"No, I have a couple spare outfits at her place just in case."

"Ah, moving in already?" The light scowl of disapproval Ren sent him in response was worth releasing a bit of the tension they were feeling.

* * *

"I see you're at least punctual." Saena spoke as she sat across from Kyoko. The girl gave a pleasant smile and courteous bow in response.

"It's good to see you again too, mother. Is it okay if we get right into the subject I do have a job after this." Kyoko said as politely as she could. Her mother hummed and looked her over for a moment before sitting down. They quickly bought tea for each of them before Saena jumped right into the main point of their meeting.

"This man you were photographed together with, I noticed there wasn't any responding explanation other than a short interview." Saena folded her hands together in front of her, resting on the table. "You stated that you two were childhood friends, and he wanted to spend time with you while he had the opportunity, that you are not seeking for a relationship at this time, and that you are currently choosing to focus on your work." she summarized quickly, not even having to look at the article or anything. Kyoko gave two affirmative nods.

"I see you've been keeping up with the news around me."

"I think I would remember such a child being around." Kyoko pursed his lips as she held her tongue, instead reaching into her bag and pulling out her favorite stone. Saena glanced at the blue rock as it was set on the table between them, then looked to Kyoko questioningly.

"This is a gift I got from a boy I met while playing around near the stream behind the Fuwa Ryokan. I thought he was a fairy because of his light hair and green eyes, and continued to believe so up into this year." she explained soft and slow. Saena scoffed at the information, clearly unimpressed with Kyoko's naivety even in young adulthood. Kyoko ignored it and continued onward, thumbing the stone lightly for strength. "I was made a fool of, for sure, but he had to leave after only a few days of meeting since he's an american and he was happy to play the part for my own benefit. He was surprised when he met me again only to find I still believed that little fairytale, but it was this stone that allowed him to recognize me ten years after that time, so I will continue to believe in it's magic." Saena quirked her furrowed brow upward, still looking unimpressed.

"Alright, so he was a friend of yours. I'll accept that. Let me ask this, did you sleep with this man?"* she asked, watching Kyoko blush brightly as she gripped the stone and shook her head slowly. She needed to be careful about how she answered, especially with her mother being a lawyer.

"That isn't really something I'm comfortably discussing with you, but I can at least assure you that I have retained my integrity." she answered.

"I see. So long as you do not break your promise to me, you can continue on. I simply had to check on the situation." the woman explained simply. "Being in the public eye so blatantly, you ought to know that people could easily find out should you become pregnant." her brow wrinkled to it's full potential and Kyoko watched with wonder. How did she pinch her eyebrows so tightly? "Judging from your reaction, you are not against being with this person intimately. Should such a thing happen, make sure you know exactly who you are interacting with..., and use protection." Kyoko stared at her mother openly. Was she truly attempting to give advice? Sure, it was probably to ensure that Kyoko did not bring her shame, but it was still very surprising to the girl.

"I... I understand mother. If it puts you at ease at all, I am already well acquainted with his parents, and I've seen his passport so I know exactly who he is." She explained confidently. Saena was quiet for a moment before she nodded in acceptance.

"Very well. I won't take up any more of your time then." She says as she stands, pausing to allow Kyoko to stand and bow to her as she said farewell. Saena looked contemplative for a moment before she gave a responding bow of her head and walked out.

Kyoko heaved a long sigh as she fiddled with her cup. When had she finished drinking it? She had been so nervous and engrossed in the conversation that she didn't even recall taking a sip. Shaking her head quickly, she pulled out her phone and sent a quick notification to Yashiro that she was done and that things had gone well. The manager almost instantly sent a reply telling her that he would be there to pick her up shortly. Boy, was she happy that was over.

* * *

Lory hummed lightly as he steeples his fingertips together, tapping them against his chin in thought.

"It's a good opportunity, you know. You say that your father left some months ago, but if he's returned and wants to talk with you, perhaps he wants to fix his wrongs." he explained. Aika clenched her fists at her sides in frustration.

"No, he does _not_ want to fix _anything_. He's here because he's a control freak. He knows that while I have this job, I have a way to do what _I_ want!" she insists. Lory pouted lightly, his obsession with family and love clearly being the driving factor here.

"You can't know that. It may feel like our parents only want to control us and keep us from doing what we want, but you have to understand that we only want what is best for our children. We want them to be safe and secure. He's worried about you."

"You... don't know _anything_." she hissed back. Kanae and Chiori took a couple steps back, looking at each other nervously at how disrespectful the girl was being to their president. Lory took it in stride however, clearly used to problem-children at this point. "I've lived with that man for practically my whole life. You may have known him briefly, but you don't know a thing about him." she insisted. That got Lory's attention, his steepled hands finally lowering to the desk before him, one clasped over the other.

"When did I meet your father?" he asked as the room went quiet, the small company looking between the others for information. Even Ruto showed a bit of surprise in his usually passive expression. Aika crossed her arms defensively across her chest as she looked down and away.

"You attended my mother's wedding. She was a singer at your company and she really looked up to you... She went by Suzuki Chiaki until she retired." recognition shone in Lory's eyes at the name.

"Yes, I remember Chiaki. She was a lovely singer. I believe she decided to retire so she could focus on her family." he recalled pleasantly.

"She retired because my father wanted her to." Aika ground out, glaring at the president in annoyance. Lory frowned lightly at that.

"I'm sure it was a decision they made together." he urged.

"Like I said, you don't know anything. Mother loved singing and writing songs. There was hardly ever a day she didn't sing or write out new songs to share with my sister and me. You really think she couldn't have done that while continuing to work here? With a boss like you? Don't be daft." Aika's eyes burned and she cursed the feeling instantly. She was usually fairly skilled in holding her tears at bay, despising the thought of showing weakness in front of others, but that was considerably more difficult to do when she was actually facing the issue and talking about it instead of just ignoring it.

Lory's hands finally separated in favor of crossing his arms across his chest as he leaned back in his chair. The girl was making some good points, even if she was a bit boorish about it all. He could see the tiny flickers of pain in her expression, despite her desperate attempts to push them down. The aggression she was showing was likely a defense she put up to hide how much she was hurting. He had seen this kind of thing hundreds of times already, though each case had various details that made them unique. The Love-Me section was truly a genius creation of he did say so himself.

"I suppose we could have easily made an arrangement if she truly wished to..." Lory started, thinking through the issue at hand in pieces. Chiaki had indeed been a very passionate girl during her employment here.

"She wouldn't ask for it, because father convinced her to stay at home, to not continue her work as a celebrity."

"She retired far before you were born, though" he pointed out. Hopefully, this was just a misunderstanding on Aika's part. There could be a logical explanation for why this appeared worse than they were...

"You think I didn't ask my mother why she stopped doing the thing she so obviously loved? She told my sister and I that she did it for our sake, that our father was _soooo_ worried that we would be lonely and feel ignored without our mother around as often as we should. It wasn't until he left us without even looking back that I saw what a load of crap he had fed all of us."

"He could be back and wanting your forgiveness." Lory tried, though the argument was admittedly starting to sound a bit week in light of the new information.

"If you make me go with that man, you might as well fire me right now, because he'll find a way to keep me from moving forward. That's the kind of person he is. You're in the entertainment industry! Are you seriously telling me that you've seen nothing but honorable and upstanding people through all these years?" Lory fell quiet at that, pushing a few files around before he pulled out a folder that she quickly recognized as her personal file. He flipped through the her papers for a moment, likely making sure that everything was completely legal.

"The signature for your guardian isn't your mother's name."

"My older sister took over as my guardian when mother passed away." Lory looked up to her quickly, surprised at the news. He hadn't heard of Chiaki's passing. Just as he was about to ask, Aika answered the question "three months ago." His mouth snapped shut and he looked down at the papers again, contemplating his choices. "I came here because mother spoke highly of LME and it's president. She said it was like the family she always wished to have. I came here because I thought you could help me... Please." Lory closed the file and tucked it back away in it's place, holding his hands together and pressed against his lips thoughtfully. The children he takes in could be so troublesome at times...

"I understand." He sighed as he placed his hands on the desk, as if needing that little extra support to help him stand again. "I will talk to this man for you. Ruto will ensure that your sister's guardianship holds even in the reappearance of your father." Aika took a moment to understand before she bowed deeply, holding it a bit longer than strictly necessary to show her gratitude.

"Thank you President Takarada." she spoke softly, holding the bowed pose as she let her hair hang to cover her face. It wasn't difficult for the seasoned man to imagine she must be feeling a flurry of emotions at the moment. Lory gave her a small pat on the head as he passed, thanking Kanae and Chiori as he left the office to take care of his promise to the girl. What troublesome, troublesome children he has.

* * *

 _*In the part where Saena asked if Kyoko "Slept with" Kuon, it was phrased in a way that implied sex as publicly appropriate as she could. English has a tendency to be a bit vague or blatant in how we word things, especially when it comes to sex. We don't have a lot of middle-ground phrasings like some languages and cultures do, so I went with a polite way and am adding this note to clarify. Kyoko may have slept in the same bed with Ren/Kuon, but she was able to confidently and truthfully state that she had not had sex with him... at least not yet. ;)_

 _No sexy stuff in this chapter, sorry. I hope you enjoyed reading all the same, however._

 _As I had promised, I gave just a little more insight to our newest love-me member. I have more to her hiding away currently, but I didn't want to get too deep into it if people aren't really interested, so this is a little bit of a feeler on how you are reacting so far. On another note, Kanae is quickly becoming the "Big Sister" character for all the love-me girls, though there may be a little influence from Lory for that. Kanae is easily bribed after all, though I think she would be especially mindful of Kyoko's privacy. *shrug*_

 _I did little research on body language and gestures for this chapter. Who caught Lory's confidence on the matter with Aika and her father wavering? (hint: it's his hands) Also, guardianship laws are so long and research is exhausting. There's a reason I didn't go into law, despite my own father's instance. I could probably do alright in it, but it has absolutely no appeal to me._

 _What did you think of the new offers Kyoko got? I'll admit that "Mermaid Dive" is one of my own threatening to spill over into this, but I'm not really thinking of having her take that one unless people seem REALLY interested in it. I'm already pretty sure most of you are firmly against her taking the PV, and I don't see her taking that one either. That leaves the sister and ghost offers. Maybe she could even take both now that she has someone managing her schedule and driving her to her jobs? Tell me your thoughts if you would._

 _I went back and fixed some misspellings for this chapter. I imagined those who commented to have cringed every time I messed up Kyoko's mother's name. Sorry about that. I'm bad enough with keeping track of real life people, let alone fictional ones. I used to have digital sticky-notes on my desktop, some for this series, but my stickies have disappeared somehow, and things are getting all scrambled in my head as a result. :( It's these moments that I think I'll grow to be one of those people with Altimeters. I just hope I finish writing my books before it takes hold of me. Death and such isn't all that frightening to me, but I'd like to accomplish at least that much before I go..._

 _Anyway_

 _Author Responses_

 _Kaname671- thank you for your vote of confidence. I might try writing a few short lines but mostly rely on descriptions when I do get to those points. As for Sho and Kanae, I completely agree. I actually got a bit of inspiration from a song called "Bruises" by Transviolet. I tend to listen to a lot spotify a lot when brainstorming. I have public lists under the username "ofdragonsandlore" if you ever get curious, but don't expect to like everything on there even if you enjoy a few. I haven't found a person yet that does. _(ツ)/ thank you for reading._

 _puffinzero- I had considered having Ren show up, but I felt it was more fitting for Lory to contact Kanae... maybe Yashiro. Lory's a very calculating and cautious man when you get down to it. He might be a bit cautious of sending Ren after a boy he knew Ren could easy bring himself to harm no matter the place. Kanae with Ruto in tow was the safest bet for this situation, though there is a reason that Kyoko's new place is so close to Ren's, and it's not ONLY because Lory wants them to hurry up and be a happy family together. :P With Ren coming after Kyoko with her toy, it's coming (haha) I promise. His control is already wavering, and it'll only be harder on him when she's 18 (which is the legal adult in America, even though Japan considers them miners until 20). Look forward to it. ;)_

 _Hairy Friend-I'm sorry that Sho is so unpleasant. I understand wholeheartedly. I hope I cleared it up pretty well in this chapter, but Kyoko **has** grown. Sho can still get under her skin, but not with the same tactics as before. Yeah, his degrading words toward her can still sting (because words like that still hurt even when you know otherwise), but he **really** got her riled up by attacking the people she cares about like, Kuu and Kuon. About the Darumaya owners... I may be letting a bit of my own spite through on that one. I'll clear up that the Taisho didn't glare at Ren for coming to check on Kyoko. He started glaring at Ren when he gave his "sissy smile" which instantly told the man that Ren is two-face/holding up a facade. The Darumaya couple keep enabling Sho purely because they got the impression that he's a old (true) good (false) friend of Kyoko's with a straightforward personality. I don't think they would be totally fine with Sho making Kyoko run up the stairs all upset, but they don't exactly see her tears as a cause for major concern unless it seems really serious (based off the beginning of the series when she was crying after being rejected). I don't like people that enable those kinds of people to get close to their loved ones. It's that kind of blindness that has allowed people I care about to be hurt in broad daylight. The Darumaya couple are great people, but I hate seeing them so easily deceived by Sho over and over. ... Rant over, sorry._

 _I'm glad you liked the direction I took with Kanae and Ruto's assistance. I'd like to see them in the series more, honestly, and I'm curious what's going to happen with Kanae's new job (idk how far people have read, so I'll try to keep from spoilers). Thank you for the panty information. I'll keep that in mind for the future. For now, we'll say her panties were elastic enough for it to be less of an issue? I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and thank you for your continued RRs_

 _Erza Tsuruga-sorry about my bad spelling. u_u At least it was amusing though? Thank you for reading, and I promise there will be more smut in the next chapter. ;)_

 _MWEH- er... Sho can still find ways like the pest he is, but it's certainly becoming more and more difficult. They ARE both in the entertainment business after all. For the time being though, he's going to mostly be a nuisance with his job offers and blowing up her phone, though I can see her getting a number change in the near future, especially once he starts being overly insistent._


	12. Chapter 12

_The content of last chapter hasn't changed as a whole, but I did go back and fix up various moments that felt a bit choppy to me. Fanfiction might not be a major priority to me, as it's not as personal as my original works, but I still don't like to half-ass things. If I'm going to do something, it has to be at least 87% ass, so I'm sorry for not giving it as much effort before posting it initially. There's no need to go back and look, but I thought I would let you know that it has been fixed a bit._

 _Kyoko has managed to curb the press finding out about her still fairly new relationship with a short interview. After a short meeting with her mother, Ren came to check on her after his own work for the day. Love is truly a powerful weapon, a powerful responsibility. One must wield it with caution, as the world is cruel and it's so easy to cut the hearts close to us, sometimes without realizing we sliced them open and left them to bleed out at our feet..._

 _Enjoy_

* * *

Yashiro pulled up in front of the humble little apartment complex, shifting the car into park before his charge started to get out.

"Goodnight Ren. I'll be here at noon tomorrow, okay?" He informs, already feeling a bit of relief at dropping the actor off at Kyoko's place. Having two charges was certainly more bearable of a responsibility when he knew they would look after each other as well. Ren gave a nod of confirmation.

"We'll be ready and waiting for you. Drive safe." Yashiro gave a salute in response and watched to make sure Ren got into the building safely. He didn't know if it was an American thing or a Ren thing, but he consistently demanded safe driving each time Yashiro dropped him off at night. Ever since Yashiro had learned of the man's origins, he often found himself wondering about various quirks like that. Well, Ren has always been insistent on safe driving though, so he supposed it was only natural for him to insist on caution when driving after dark. With both his actors safely tucked away in the building, Yashiro headed off, feeling giddy with the knowledge that they would be spending the night and morning together. He was truly the luckiest manager alive to be aware of such a wonderful love story.

Ren felt just a little like a criminal as he tried to unlock Kyoko's apartment door and slip in as quietly as possible. He's never had the key to someone else's home before, let alone used it to slip in like a thief in the night. Even when coming into his parent's place at ungodly hours of the night, he hadn't tried to hide it. He had welcomed the thought of his parents catching him and doing what they could to try and stop him from going out. He was that kind of rebellious child, yet his parents always just smiled and told him they were happy he was home.

When the door clicked shut, he tensed up, only relaxing when he didn't hear any movement or response in the dark rooms. Slipping his shoes off, the man considered turning on a light only briefly before deciding against it and carefully padding over to the main bedroom. Kyoko seemed to be sleeping peacefully, surrounded comfortably by warm blankets and hugging her second pillow. It made him smile to think she might be using it as a placeholder for him. He hadn't gotten permission to sleep in her bed tonight though, so it looked like he would be begrudging sleeping on the couch. Even so, he couldn't resist sitting on the edge of the bed and petting her for a few seconds reassurance for himself. Her cheeks were dry and her breathing even, telling him she truly hadn't been that upset after her talk with her mother that day.

"Corn?" She called out in a sleepy voice, twisting to look at him despite the dark room. Ren cringed as he realized he had woken her up.

"Sorry sweety, I just wanted to check on you." He whispered to her before leaning down and kissing her forehead. Kyoko let out a soft hum in response.

"You aren't staying?" He chuckled and used his thumb to brush a few stray strands of hair our of her face.

"I will if you want me to. I didn't want to break your rule of asking before getting in your bed."

"Stupid. Hurry up and come to bed." She grumbled out, gripping his wrist somewhat weakly in her sleepy state. Ren held in his laughter. She was just so cute. Her very voice warmed him from the inside out.

"Let me clean up and I'll come to bed shortly, okay?"

"Mmm... okay..." she mumbled before finally releasing him and turning back to hug the pillow he wished to claim as his own. Ren kissed her head one last time before heading off to the bathroom.

He took the quickest shower of his life and brushed his teeth, getting ready for bed and pulling on a pair of sleep pants before eagerly making his way back to her. Kyoko had shuffled out of the middle into one side of the bed at some point, the second pillow left for him albeit slightly skewed. He smiled as he took in the sight, slipping into the free space and happily welcoming her in his arms when she turned to cuddle against his chest, the petite girl heaving out a happy little sigh.

"Thank you for coming over..." she mumbled. Ren frowned lightly in concern.

"I thought things went well with your mother?" He asked worriedly.

"They did. She didn't say anything bad or anything, and she basically just wanted to make sure nothing had changed from our last talk. I don't know though, it was just... exhausting." She said, snuggling further into his chest. Ren let out a soft hum that seemed to cause her to relax further for some reason.

"I understand. Just know that I always have your back." He stated as he nuzzled his nose into the top of her head. Kyoko let out a happy little hum of acknowledgement, bringing a smile to his own lips. How he wished he could be with her like this every night...

.

.

* * *

.

Kyoko didn't think she would ever get used to waking up to Ren sleeping beside her, one arm trapped under her head even as he slept on his back and slightly sprawled out. She blushed as she quietly noted his bare chest, slowly reaching out and brushing her fingers over the skin. He let out a soft hum, but otherwise seemed entirely undisturbed, so she chewed her lip and slid her hand downward to feel his stomach and hips. In the times they had shared a bed, Ren was always awake either before her or just about the same time, so it was interesting to get to wake up way before him for once. Her curiosity could not be contained.

Dipping her hand down further, she easily found the firm tent in his pants, grinning at the discovery of it and gripping him through the thin fabric there as she noted that there wasn't any second layer to indicate underwear. She could feel him so easily through his sleep pants. Their talk of boundaries at the beginning of the relationship had given her permission to touch and explore him as she pleased, and she planned to take great advantage of it this morning. She didn't really know what was interesting and fun about touching him like this other than it was just... different.

"Kyoko..." Ren groaned out, making her pause as she wondered if she had woke him up. When no other words followed, she grinned as she wondered what he could be dreaming about. He said her name when she touched him, so maybe... one of those erotic dreams he had confessed to her about? Getting an idea, a grin stretched across her face as she leaned in close to his ear.

"What is it, Ren?" She purred softly as she rolled him firmly in her hand, holding back a giggle as the man released a low groan. "Do you want to feel me?"

"Please." His strangled plea warmed her body, making the girl chew her lip as she tried to control herself. She released him for only a moment, wiggling her hand under the waistband of his pants before gripping his throbbing shaft, pressing down on his tip with her thumb. He always responded well to her playing with the head, and the tip was especially sensitive. The man groaned and his hips bucked lightly into her hand. Kyoko was thrilled at his response to her.

"You like me a lot, don't you Ren?" She cooed teasingly.

"I love you." He sighed out, making her blush as she felt the arm under her head shift and his hand coming to lightly cradle her to him. She hid her face in his shoulder as she squeezed him, smiling as she felt it twitch in her grip.

"I love you too, Ren. Do you want to feel how much I love you?" She asked, struggling to keep up her little seductive act even though he seemed to still be mostly asleep. Ren let out a little hum of approval, so she wiggled downward into the covers and tugged the waist of his pants down so his throbbing piece popped out. She gave an experimental lick, grinning as she heard a responding moan as it twitched.

Ren was confused as he woke that morning, feeling shock in his body as something warm and wet wrapped around his member. His body shivered at the sensation of a warm muscle wiggling against the underside of his shaft, and the sucking... He released a low moan as his body shivered with pleasure.

"K-Kyoko?" He choked out, gathering enough brain cells to open his eyes and quickly take in his surroundings. He had come to check on Kyoko last night, and she had told him to come to bed- shit was it hard to think right now. His eyes slid down to the hill currently in the covers over his lower half, rising and falling quickly as the heat only seemed to rise further in that sensitive part of him. Lifting the edge of the covers, he was faced with the sight of his love alternating between sucking and licking all over his member, as if she were eagerly tasting her favorite candy, one hand cradling his piece as she enjoyed herself. Her golden eyes opened and rose to meet his as she took him in her mouth again, the wonderful warmth and the feel of her tongue wiggling against him feeling so magnificent to his still groggy mind. When he coupled those magnificent feelings with the sight of his most beloved person going to town on his sensitive member, he didn't stand a chance. Ren wasn't able to warn her before he came hard, moaning loud as his body shook.

It took several minutes for him to come down from his high, his mind still trying to wake up from the morning haze, as well as grasp the information that: by god, this woman was some kind of goddess and had just granted him a heavenly gift.

"Are you okay, Ren?" Kyoko asked, her voice coming from beside him now. How much time has passed? He didn't remember her moving. His head rolled to look at her, finding his precious girlfriend wiping at her chin with her night gown and consequently giving him a wonderful view of her perky little breasts.

"Is this the afterlife? Or am I still dreaming?" He finally asked. Kyoko snorted and looked away, trying and failing to hold in a slew of giggles.

"Did you like it that much?" She asked, peeking back at him with mirth in the corners of her eyes. Ren looked at her like she was crazy.

"I can't imagine not enjoying that. What kind of crazy...? Come here you!" Kyoko squealed in surprise as Ren pounced on her, pinning her arms to the bed as he began kissing her neck and collar heatedly.

"Ren! What are you doing?" She whined as she squirmed under him, delighted with every little kiss he speckled on her soft skin. Her gown was crumpled up from her cleaning her face, leaving the wonderful sight of her in full view for him to admire as he gazed down. Oh, what a delectable sight she was.

"Retribution." He growled out before attacking one of her nipples with his mouth. Her sexy throaty moan only dialed him up more as he sucked and swirled his tongue over the little nub, then pulled away with a pop and shifted to the other. Kyoko was moaning and squeaking with delight as he pleasured her perky little breasts, gasping when he moved to eagerly suck a kiss-mark in the underside of her left breast.

"Ren!" She moaned, her body squirming and arching up into him. He moaned and pulled away with another pop, pleased with himself as he saw the deep red mark he had left. It was in a safe spot that would remain covered in her daily life, and he contemplated giving a couple more before he decided to continue downward to his real goal.

Even as he released her wrists to kiss down her torso, Kyoko didn't think to move her hands other than to grip at the bed sheets as pleasure tingled throughout her body. His big warm hands were gliding over her, driving her mad with the pleasurable tingling it inflicted on her senses.

"Ren, please!" She begged, though she couldn't even think of exactly what it was she was begging for anymore. She just wanted more. More pleasure. More contact. More of him.

"Don't worry little princess, I'll give you what you need." Ren purred before she felt his palms gliding over her most sensitive spots, skillfully teasing each one from all his exploration over the past months. He could play her like an instrument at this point, and she loved every second of it. Everywhere he touched felt so pleasantly hot. She wanted him to touch her all over just to feel that heat more. When he tugged her panties down her hips, she instinctively lifted her hips to help, thrilled as the tiny garment was tossed onto the floor. When his head dipped between her legs, she wrapped her thighs around his neck and gleefully moaned at the feel of his tongue lapping at her entrance.

"Ren! Ah! More! Devour me!" She pleaded, thrilled at his instant compliance. She hardly knew what it was that he was doing down there, but the feel of his tongue and fingers exploring her was enough to have her convulsing in pleasure again and again. "More! I want more!" She begged, making the man grunt as he tried to please her. He wanted to plunge deep inside her, to give her more than his measly fingers could provide, but he couldn't do that, not yet. It would haunt his every second as he wondered if it was the right thing to take her so soon in their relationship. He wanted to treasure her, despite his desires threatening to spill out as he stole away every last bit of her. No, he had to ensure they progressed healthily. This relationship with her was more precious to him than all the jewels in the world. He didn't want to ruin his precious treasure by being greedy and gobbling her up faster than his father inhaled food. He would taste her slowly, like an archaeologist slowly uncovering the fragile and valuable pieces of a nearly forever lost world.

Kyoko was embarrassed by the sounds her pussy was making, loud and wet as her juices seemed to flow endlessly, milked by Ren's nimble fingers thrusting and wiggling deep inside her before he lapped said juices with an unquenchable thirst. She could feel her walls being grazed and pressed in various ways, the man easily finding the spots that sent her moaning and squirming with pleasure as he teased them again and again.

"T-too much! It feels too much!" She cried as she came again. How many times was it now? She hadn't been expecting such an extreme return for her antics that morning. Her legs were kicking wildly as they sat on Ren's shoulders, the girl barely holding enough sanity to remind herself not to slam her heels roughly into his back in the process. Even so, he was driving her crazy with these sensations, her body buzzing with far more pleasure than she felt her body could handle. Can one die from pleasure? Can a person have such explosive orgasms that their heart completely stopped? That's what she felt was happening to her. Her body squirmed, and then she was gripping her pillow to her face as she muffled the uncontrollable cry of pleasure she felt erupting from her throat. Finally, his fingers slid out of her and he finished her off with a few soothing licks, settling her hips down on the bed again as she panted and twitched in the afterglow. Ren watched her every little jerk, pleased with himself and knowing he had accomplished driving her to such an extreme orgasm. "T-too... m-m-much." She gasped again as she curled up against him as soon as he slid to lay beside her. Ren chuckled lightly as he hugged her to him, enjoying the feel of her convulsing lightly against his body.

"Did you enjoy it?" He teased. Kyoko let out a little grunt as a couple more twitches coursed through her.

"I thought you were the masochist, but it turns out you're a sadist after all." She grumbled out. Ren chuckled at her little pouting as she cuddled against him.

"Maybe a little." He admits unapologetic. "Though, you're the one who didn't use the safe word so..." Kyoko pouted and looked away, causing Ren's grin to stretch impossibly.

As soon as she felt herself settle down enough, Kyoko decided to get up and get ready for the day, pushing Ren to try and get a bit more sleep since he had gotten in so late and she was the one that woke him with her little surprise. Ren protested like a pouting child, so she simply sighed and let him do as he pleased. She felt a little bad for waking him up so early now, even though he looked incredibly happy and energetic.

.

* * *

.

"Do you think I should look into birth control?" Ren paused with a bite of food hovering just in front of his open mouth. Slowly, he lowered the morsel and regarded his girlfriend uncertainly.

"Why are you asking about that?" He asked cautiously. The morning had been amazing so far; getting to pleasure each other so early in the morning, watching her flit about her kitchen as she prepared them breakfast, distracting him from the scripts and lines he _should_ be looking over for the day.

"I just...," Kyoko heaved a heavy sigh as she poked at her own breakfast, " I don't know. When I talked to mother yesterday, she brought up... unplanned pregnancies, that the media would find out fairly easily if I happened to become pregnant, and... I _do_ want to... have s-sex with you. Even if we aren't right now, I can start taking birth control so when we do..." she trailed off as she fidgeted and blushed in place. Ren hummed and used eating to wait for a couple bites to buy him some time. Kyoko could tell what he was doing based off his history with food, but she patiently waited.

"I don't really like the idea of you taking medication just so you can have sex with me." He smirked lightly at that, the little grin widening as he saw Kyoko's blush darken and her eyes narrow in a light glare at him. "If we have sex, I _would_ wear a condom. I'm not going to risk your image for a few minutes of pleasure. Condoms aren't 100% effective, but they also don't effect your body the way medications do."

"My body?" She echoed, getting a nod of confirmation from her boyfriend.

"I don't know all the specifics, as it's not really something I had to think a lot about before, but I am aware that girls often said it effected them physically, and I don't remember a lot of happy conversations about it when I was, well... eavesdropping." he admitted, a little shy to outright admit to his bad habit. "Weight gain was the main one I heard about, but I know there were various other effects they mentioned. What were they...?" He mumbled to himself thoughtfully. Kyoko fiddled with the carpet under her coffee table as she considered his words.

"If I get pregnant though, I'd still get fat." Ren paused his pondering to look over to her, taking in her slouched appearance and worrying a bit about her emotional state. She seemed really troubled.

"First off, pregnancy is not the same as getting fat. Anyone who tries to say a woman is fat for being pregnant is either ignorant or stupid. Second of all, I don't care if you were to gain weight Kyoko. This isn't about that. You're in the entertainment industry, and all celebrities work hard to convey the image they desire. If you're happy with that image, I won't say anything, but don't decide what image you want based on sacrifices you make for me. I'm sure you can keep whatever image and appearance you want, regardless of birth control trying to push for extra pounds. You would have to work harder for it, though. For roles that call for a more trim and fit physique like Momiji or any other excessively active character, you would have to work out far more often and a lot harder just to maintain it. If you are content and happy with a fuller body and the appearance of a more quiet lifestyle, I'm sure there are rolls for that as well, though I'm sorry to say that I don't see very many. This is also assuming, of course, that you still plan on perusing acting rolls as you have been. There are other paths in entertainment and talent that don't call for any real work on physique." Kyoko shook her head quickly.

"I love acting. I want to keep acting in all kinds of roles." She declared eagerly. Ren smiles warmly and nodded his agreement. He knew she would want to. She was a lot like him in that respect, and she seemed to really enjoy the more active roles on top of that.

"That's what I thought. I'm sure you can maintain the appearance you desire regardless of what you chose, but I don't want you to make that choice based off of your carnal desires with me. I'll do what I can to ensure we're as safe as possible when we get to that point, so that your body doesn't have to suffer consequences for our relationship." He pledged. Kyoko blushed and smiled as she took several more bites into her mouth, feeling oh so blessed to have her boyfriend care so much about her. How did she get so lucky, really? She couldn't figure it out.

"Maybe I could look into sterilization. I don't want to ever have kids anyway. If I make myself infertile completely, neither one of us will have to worry about it." She suggested. That sounded like a really good idea! She hadn't put much thought into those kinds of things before, because she never expected to actually gain a loving and intimate relationship, but perhaps that would be best. She looked up to Ren excitedly but stopped when she saw him frozen, staring down at his food quietly. "Corn?" She called worriedly. What happened? Did he remember something bad?

Ren cleared his throat and shook his head quickly as he shuffled a few pieces a food around, as if picking out which morsel he wanted to eat most. Kyoko's brow furrowed as she watched him. He was covering up something, trying to act normal, but she could tell that something was wrong.

"If that is what you truly want to do, we can look into it." He stated, his voice even and emotionally unattached before he ate the chosen piece of food. Kyoko frowned as she examined him thoughtfully. He looked normal, but she could definitely feel something was wrong.

Ren was internally kicking himself. He wanted to object, tell her she shouldn't abandon her ability to have children, but... was he even allowed to? It wasn't his choice. It was hers. On top of that, he _knew_ why she didn't want children. He had seen how much damage her mother had done on the girl's mental and emotional state. He couldn't ask her to consider children in her future, not when he knew how painful that thought may be for her. The once tasty and flavorful food now suddenly felt like sand in his mouth, dry and dull in its flavor as he mechanically chewed, dutifully eating despite dreading the very feel on his tongue with every bite. He couldn't show his distress, not here. He couldn't tell her not to do what she wanted to ensure her happiness.

"Corn!" His head snapped up and he looked around quickly, startled to find her sitting next to him, her hand gripping his shoulder as she looked worriedly into his eyes. "Corn, what's wrong? I've been calling you for a couple minutes now." She said worriedly, golden hazel eyes searching his dull green gaze.

"You were? I'm sorry, I was just thinking about the day. I didn't mean to wander off, my apologies." He stated somewhat formally. Kyoko's frown deepened. Why was he slipping back into his Tsuruga Ren persona? He hadn't acted so curt and formal with her for a while now.

"Kuon, tell me what's wrong. You promised me that you wouldn't keep things from me anymore, remember?" His eyes slipped down to his food again, poking lightly as he contemplated his answer. "Is this because of what I was talking about? Kuon, did you... do you want to have children one day?" She asked. It was the only reason she could think of based off their conversation and when he had shut down like that. Ren sighed and closed his eyes as he shook his head slowly.

"I don't know, Kyoko. I'm sorry. I just... we need to get ready for the day. Yukihito will be here in a couple hours." He states, shoving the rest of his food into his mouth determinedly. Kyoko sat and watched as he downed the food in seconds before getting up and taking the empty bowls into the kitchen. It wasn't right. He wasn't okay, and he wasn't telling her what was wrong!

.

* * *

.

Yashiro peeked into the rear view mirror worriedly. He wasn't sure what was going on, but he didn't like it. Ren seemed normal enough... for Ren. Maybe that was the problem. The man had been acting more loose and cheerful in the past months, especially once Yashiro was aware of the relationship between the two celebrities, but now it was like he had placed a wall between himself and the world all over again. He was quiet, sitting in the back seat and reading his script with just the bare minimum of formalities given to those around him. Kyoko kept staring at the actor worriedly, and Yashiro had to wonder what had happened for Ren to be the one acting strange when it had been Kyoko they were worried about just yesterday and last night!

The manager couldn't help mentally crying, feeling like his heart was being shredded to pieces as he watched the wall stand between his favorite pair. The worst part, he had no idea how this could have happened! Why was his ship falling apart? It was sailing so beautifully, and now it was crumbling right before his eyes! The manager was just working on formulating a plan to contact Lory, maybe squeeze a little information out of Kyoko, and try to find whatever he could to fix the pieces of his ship back together when Ren finally seemed to come out of his strange state, calling for Kyoko before she exited the car at her first job for the day. Yashiro held in his gleeful squeal as long firm arms curled around the petite girl and Ren gently kissed her lips, sending her off with a soft smile.

"I think I agree with you. I think it's for the best. Sorry that it took me a while to understand it." Kyoko blinked a few times before giving a slow nod.

"Well..., it's not an issue yet. We'll look into it before we decide anything." She replied, smiling softly at him before cradling his chin and giving a soft but somewhat drawn out kiss on the lips. Pulling away, her eyes glanced to Yashiro in the front seat before she cleared her throat, repeated her farewells, and bolted out of the car with a vibrant blush.

"So... what was that you two were talking so cryptically about?" Yashiro prodded. Whatever it was that they were talking about, it was likely the cause of Ren's strange behavior this morning.

"If you realized we were talking cryptically, what makes you think I would tell you what it was?" Ren challenged and Yashiro pouted as his mind ticked away at possibilities.

"Oh my gosh, is Kyoko pregnant?" Yashiro squealed. Maybe they were talking about how to go about it. Would they get married right away? Would here be a ceremony?

"We haven't gone that far, Yukihito." Ren cut Yashiro's mental party short, causing the manager to wilt as Ren propped his elbow on the arm rest attached to the car door, setting his chin in his hand as he watched the world drive by while they headed to his first job of the day.

"You can't blame a guy for hoping." Yashiro grumbled with a pout. Ren just sighed and looked down to his script, unable to help the little voice of agreement in the back of his mind. He did have that seed of hope, but he had come to the conclusion that Kyoko had been right, it was for the best that they not go down that route. She was too scarred from her mother's detachment and scorn over the years, and he didn't want to put his hypothetical children through the same hardships he himself experienced at a young age due to growing up in an adult's world. It was best that they refrain. If his own father had struggled with such a task, how could he ever hope to raise a happy child in this world of lights and cameras. No, it really was best. These were the kind of thoughts he pushed around in his head over and over like a mantra. He felt more at ease, knowing his decision on the matter, so why did his chest ache still? It wasn't like he was giving up a child he already had.

Yashiro glanced into the rear view mirror for the hundredth time, worrying immensely over his first charge. What happened that had made him so reserved and quiet again? It really troubled the manager. This was certainly something he would need to take to the company president.

.

.

* * *

.

"I think Kuon wants to be a father one day." Kyoko spoke softly from Kanae's bed, fiddling with the little doll clothes she was currently constructing. Kanae looked up from her phone she had been distracting herself with, then glanced at the time shown in the corner of the screen.

"It took you forty-two minutes of silence to get that out?" she questioned. "So he wants to be a dad in the future, so what?"

"I don't think I want children." Kyoko sighed out gloomily. Kanae's initially response was 'then don't!' but she luckily saw the real issue before she could voice that thought.

"Oh." was all she was able to get out. Kyoko nodded in agreement. That just about summed up her own reaction to the realization. "You do know that you don't have to do something just because he wants it, right?" Kanae asked slowly. It was a difficult topic, because You couldn't easily have a child without a partner to create one with.

"I know that, it's just... I don't know. He clammed up when I talked about going through sterilization and it's like..., I'm worried. He won't tell me what he's thinking." She bemoaned. Kanae frowned lightly at that. she had only seen Ren once today, and while she had certainly noticed he seemed disconnected and blocked off, nose deep in his script or staring intently at his phone, she had simply thought he had a lot on his plate or something.

"I'm confused. How did you two even come to this conversation?" Kanae asked. Kyoko heaved a heavy sigh before carefully recounting the short meeting she had with her mother, following up with her conversation with her boyfriend the following morning regarding birth control and how she never wanted children. Kanae frowned thoughtfully as Kyoko described his reaction, clamming up and putting up an invisible barrier before finally concluding that she knew best right as she was exiting Yashiro's car.

"And then he kept putting on that fake smile any time I tried to talk to him the rest of the day! I almost prefer him being mad!" Kyoko cried out, gripping her head and releasing a groan of aggravation.

"It would be pretty insensitive for him to be mad over you not wanting to bare his children."

"But now I feel like _I'm_ being insensitive!" she wailed as she flopped backward onto the bed.

"Okay, I'm going to say this once. Hizuri-san or Turuga-san or whoever is not the one that would have to get pregnant. He can't force you to do something you don't want to. For one, that's... just no. We're not even going to talk about that, because he'd be dead the second he even _tried_ to do something like that against your will. For two..., I hate to say it, but if it meant so much to him, he could just go find someone that does want children." Kanae felt horrible for saying it, knowing how much the two of them loved each other. She only felt worse when Kyoko turned that horrified and heartbroken look to her.

"How can you say that?"

"Kyoko..."

"No, why did I even come to you for this? You've never been in love. You've never been in this kind of relationship. You don't even like children!" Kyoko's eyes stung as she rose her voice at her dearest friend.

"Kyoko!" Why? Why was everything falling apart around her? Because of this topic? She wasn't even pregnant, yet the people she cared about most were falling away from her just from talking to her about it! It wasn't fair! She ran out of Kanae's room, tugging on her shoes in seconds before she was bolting out into the night. "Kyoko! Damn it!" Kanae yelled after her. Kyoko ignored it, sniffling and running along the walkway as she looked around through blurry eyes. Somewhere... there had to be somewhere she could run and clear her head.

Kanae cursed as she struggled to shove on her shoes, ignoring the curious looks and pestering questions from her family members that wanted so desperately to know what was going on. She didn't have time to humor them. What was that idiot thinking, running out like that? She needed to find her idiot best friend before she got herself into trouble, running out when it was already midnight. Kanae let out curse after curse as she quickly opened her phone. She couldn't just call or text her. With the way Kyoko had left, she would likely just ignore her. She scanned over her contacts quickly, hoping an idea would pop out at her. The company president?... Maybe as a last resort. Ammamia-san? No, that didn't seem like a good idea. She wished she had Yashiro or Tsuruga's number right now. One of those two would be ideal... maybe the manager more than the actor at the moment. With a growl of irritation, she snapped her phone shut and started looking around wildly for any indication that Kyoko might be around or at least passed through.

.

* * *

Kyoko sighed as she sat in a tree. It was a stroke of luck that she stumbled upon the park, but she had felt uneasy sitting on the dark playground. She felt exposed. Climbing up the tree hadn't been very easy, and she was sure it would have been even more difficult if she hadn't worked so hard to train up her body for her role as Momiji, but she managed to get up and she certainly saw why Corn enjoyed this sort of thing back then. Off the ground and concealed by the leaves and branches around her, she felt safe and secure despite knowing a fall wouldn't be very ideal. She looked up at the higher branches, wondering if it would be even better up there. It called to her, and soon she was clambering up the next couple levels of branches. They were a little thinner than the lowest sets, but relatively secure. She settled in close to the trunk on a sturdy branch that gave a decently comfortable seat for her to rest in. This was... really nice. She sighed and leaned against the tree, smiling lightly as she imagined the leaves on the tree to be rustling from little nature fairies, blown in on the autumn wind and using the tree for a temporary shelter.

"You shouldn't stick around, you know," she spoke to the fairies, "Winter will be coming soon. I'd hate for your lovely wings to freeze up and crumble in the cold. Do nature fairies and winter fairies get along? It doesn't seem very nice for them to be so harsh to their own kind. Does the royal family have to break up feuds between fairy groups?" she rambled before tapering off with a sigh as Kuon's face flashed in her mind. She pouted as she snuggled against the tree trunk, thinking over her interactions with him that day. Their morning had started out so wonderful and amazing. Everything had gone downhill when children became a topic. She hadn't even considered the possibility that he wanted children one day. She supposed he must have been thinking hard about it, considering he had decided to agree with her by the time they parted ways. He had been so quiet and distant for the rest of the day though, hiding behind that facade she hadn't seen in a little more than a year. Kyoko sighed for the thousandth time that day, tugging out her phone to glance at the time. It was nearly one in the morning, and she just noticed she had an unread message from him. Opening it instantly, she frowned at the single line of text.

 _ **00:17 Corn: Are you with Kotonami-san?**_

That was forty minutes ago, with no other texts afterward. She worried her lip nervously as she considered texting him back. What if he already went to bed? She woke him up before he got a proper amount of sleep, so he must be tired right? But..., he still had nightmares occasionally, and with the state he had been in today, she couldn't help but worry.

 **00:59 Kyoko: Not anymore. I ran out a little while ago.**

She sent off the text, telling herself that she wouldn't bother him again tonight if he didn't answer, taking it to mean he had gone to bed. She didn't expect the chime a minute later

 _ **Corn: are you safe? Did you call someone to give you a ride home?**_

 **Kyoko: I'm in a tree**

She giggled as she sent the text, feeling a little better just from their tiny conversation. Several minutes went by with silence, the girl wondering how he would respond before the chime finally came, quickly followed by a second.

 _ **Corn: Call me**_

 _ **Please?**_

She did so instantly, her eyes watering lightly as she heard the concern in his voice as soon as he answered.

 _"Hello? Kyoko?"_

"...Hey." She spoke softly and he went silent for a moment, probably assessing what he should say.

 _"Are you okay? You... said you're in a tree?"_ she giggled at the audible uncertainty.

"Yeah, I remembered that Corn seemed to like it a lot and I gave it a try. It's definitely not as easy as you made it look, even now that I'm older and taller."

 _"Ah, yeah... it's certainly something you have to practice. We can go rock climbing some time if you like."_

"I think that might be fun." she agreed with a soft smile as she snuggled further into the little spot she had found in the tree. Corn stayed silent for a long while again, but she didn't mind. She liked just being on the phone with him.

 _"Are you okay?"_ he asked a second time, as if expecting a different answer. Kyoko shook her head with a sad little smile, knowing he couldn't see it.

"I should be the one asking that, what with how you were today-"

 _"I wanted to talk to you about that, actually."_ he cut in. She wanted to be annoyed at him, but he sounded a little desperate. _"It... I know I didn't react well. I was shocked, though looking back I don't really know why. I hadn't really thought about having any children before, because I never thought I would be allowed to have such blessings in this life. I never thought someone like me could have something like love, that I could deserve such a thing. I guess I was mostly shocked to find that I cared at all. I was surprised to find that some part of me still longed for something like a family, to have a wife and children that I could love and spend time with."_ Kyoko could easily picture Kuon in such a scenario, his blond hair and green eyes shining in the sunlight as she shared the wonders of nature with his children in the outdoors. The very image was magnificent, and then it all came crashing down as she felt something constricting in her chest. Kuon would be an amazing father, but could she give that to him?

"You do deserve that, Kuon." she spoke up, forcing her voice to be steady so as to not give away her own heartache.

 _"No."_ She bit her bottom lip to hold back a sob when she heard his rejection. Was it her fault? He was going to forget about it for her? _"I don't deserve anything that the love of my life isn't willing to share with me. I did some research throughout the day. If the articles I found are true, then a lot of birth control options are actually well developed so long as you keep away from things with heavy amounts of hormones in them. I didn't like how risky the sterilization procedure seemed for you as surgery, even simple ones, can have a lot of complications. And then I realized I can just get a vasectomy. It's way safer than you having anything done, and it's more effective than things like condoms and a lot of birth controls out there."_

"A... vasectomy?" she spoke slowly, scrunching her eyebrows together.

 _"It means I would get the tubes for my sperm cut. It's essentially the male equivalent of sterilization, **and** it's safer."_ he explained quick and easy. Kyoko felt herself choke on nothing. He was going to...

"You can't!"

 _"What? Kyoko, I don't understand. I thought-"_

"You thought wrong! You can't do that! You have to become a father one day!"

 _"Kyoko, I don't want a family with anyone but you. We can adopt if you want to, but-"_

"But then they won't have Kuon's genes. You can't do that! I forbid it!" she was shaking so hard that the leaves on the branches were rustling loudly. How could he decide something like that? She couldn't allow it. She wouldn't!

 _"Kyoko... Something like that isn't important."_

"It is to me! You can't just cut yourself out of the gene pool! You... you... the world would curse me for pushing you to that kind of decision! The very gods would loathe my existence!"

 _"Kyoko, I don't think-"_

"I'll tell father!" Kuon finally went silent, the line filled with the sound of Kyoko panting heavily as she clutched tightly to the branch she was holding onto, her knuckles turning white from her deathly grip. "I... I'll tell father. He loves children. I bet you anything that he wants grandchildren some day. Even if he would love adopted grandchildren as his own, he'd be sad if you were to deny him the beautiful children that are sure to be the product of Kuon's own genes." She knew she had caught him. She couldn't allow him to do something like this.

 _"Like I said, I don't want anyone but Kyoko."_ he finally spoke up again, his voice soft and soothing in her ear. _"If my darling Kyoko does not want children, then I have no need for the ability to give them. I would gladly take the wrath of my parents, Lory, and Yashiro for the rest of eternity as long as it meant I could be with you."_ Kyoko sniffled and rubbed at her eyes harshly, unable to hold back the noise from reaching him. _"Kyoko? Are you okay?"_

"I... I'm fine. I just... I'm scared, okay?"

 _"I know. I am too. Life is scary, and tough, and people are cruel. It's the main reason that I decided that I agree with you. Sure, children are wonderful and charming, but I don't think I can raise a happy child. I don't want to bring someone into this world only for them to go through the hardships of a child in the entertainment industry like I did. My parents loved me so much, and I still couldn't make them proud and stand on my own feet. If my parents couldn't do it, I don't have any faith that I could manage. It's best if I avoid it all together. I'm happy to just have you at my side."_

"Corn, you can't. You can't do that. You'd make a wonderful father. I want you to be a father. Don't say you won't." she sobbed.

""Kyoko, I don't understand."" she startled as she heard the voice echo in her ear and beneath her. Looking down, she saw Ren standing under her tree, gazing up at her with his phone pressed to his ear. ""Don't you know that it's impossible for me if I don't have you by my side?"" Kyoko sniffled and rubbed at her nose with her sleeve. Ren smiled gently up at her as he ended the call and tucked his phone into his pocket. "Are you going to come down, or should I come up?" he asked. Kyoko looked him over thoughtfully for a moment, wondering if the tree could hold him up with his larger physique. On top of that, he was still wearing his nice clothes and shoes from working today. She didn't want them to get all torn and scuffed from the tree.

"I... I'll come down." she decides, getting a nod from the man before he reached up toward her, beckoning her to him. She giggled through sniffles as she put away her own phone and started her way down, stopping on the lowest hanging branch to peer at him curiously. He was still waiting with outstretched arms. "Are you going to catch me?" she asked curiously. His reassuring smile stretched into a grin.

"Always." he promised without a second thought. Mustering up her courage, she let go of the branch and let her body fall backwards. The thrill and fear of falling filled her for only a small second before she found herself safely cradled in Ren's arms, held against his chest as he heaved a sigh of relief. She snuggled into him, quietly noting that his heart was hammering away against her ear. Was he that scared for her? Did he run here? How far was Moko's house from his apartments? She didn't recall the Kotnami household being that close by.

Kyoko allowed her feet to be lowered down, quickly hugging Ren's neck as she buried her face into his shoulder.

"I'm sorry I started talking about sterilization and such this morning. I didn't even think about what you would want and how you might want a family and-"

"Kyoko, it's alright. You're allowed to think about your options." he assured, leaning back and pushing her lightly so he could look into her eyes. A tender smile pulled at his lips as he cradled her cheek gently. "We're in this together. If you don't want children, that's okay. If you _can't_ have children, that's okay. I don't love you for what you can give me. I love you for who you are and how you love me for me. Understand?" she nodded eagerly and noticed his eyes flick up to spot something over her shoulder. Turning, she saw a very distraught and disheveled Kanae running over, the girl slowing a few feet when she saw who Kyoko was with. Kyoko blushed at the intimate way they had been embracing, shying away slightly. She had grown a little comfortable with Yashiro being around when they did somewhat personal things, but that was largely due to him being so supportive of public displays of affection between them and the fact that he had already caught them making out between free hours a few times. Kyoko wasn't crazy about her best friend seeing her doing such indecent things in the middle of the night out in public.

"How... how could you run out like that in the middle of the night?" Kanae demanded, looking a bit shaken. Kyoko sheepishly fiddled with her fingers.

"I'm sorry Mok-... K-Kanae-chan." she corrected herself before slowly kneeling on the floor and bowing down in a dogeza. Ren and Kanae stared in shock. When was the last time Kyoko had displayed such a pose?

"Mo! Stop that! I don't... get up!" the older girl demanded hastily. Kyoko sat up but stayed kneeling on the ground, looking up at her best friend pitifully. "I don't want you to apologize or anything. I just... I want you to be safe, okay? At least call someone to pick you up _before_ you leave. How was I supposed to know that Tsuruga-san was coming to pick you up if you run off into the night? If I didn't see you, I might have called the president or the police or something and reported you as a missing person!"

"I'm sorry Kanae-chan" Kyoko repeated. Ren stood by and watched affectionately, unable to help but think he understood a little better why his parents still accepted him happily when he came home even at odd hours of the night. Kanae was doing a fine job of admonishing a runaway while simultaneously showing how much she loved and cared for the girl. Maybe he could use this tactic in the future... if Kyoko's words could indeed be taken that she truly wanted him to have children of his own.

Deep in his chest, he could feel that little seed of hope push up and become a little sapling. If he would need to uproot it in the future was another matter.

* * *

 _Well then, this isn't what I had planned for this chapter... I hope you all enjoyed it anyway._

 _I'm sure you can all tell the subject of my most resent bout of research. That's right, birth control! Woo! This is something my husband and I have still been working on talking on and off about throughout the years. She and I have always stuck to pull-out and condoms, which aren't exceptionally high protection rates, but we have various reasons for not going into birth control. The main reason for us is that the American medical system is efin broken bro, not to mention how much shit people give to planned parenthood because of various opinions, a lot of which I really think should be left to the individual. Ren's first conversation on the subject of birth control was going off things he heard people talking about in the past when he was listening in on conversations (something people tend to do when they don't have conversations of their own to listen to, and he seemed to have plenty of social problems so...). Reading up on it anew, it seems that there has been progress in that area, but I admit that the most personal information I have in this area is based off female friends and my older sister who have mentioned it in passing. For these things, it's probably best to listen to people who have actually gone through with using medications. If anyone needs insight on MJ, I can give you something there, as well as how doctors really don't know shit about ADHD half the time, but that's about where my experience with drugs ends. Sorry._

 _Up next, Kyoko will finally chose what her next project will be! I've only received a few inputs on what people are most interested in, and it's looking like the Ghost one will win. Last chance of you had other things in mind._

 _Author Response_

 _Kaname671- I agree with you about Kyoko's mother. Just because there is a reason, doesn't make it an excuse (My wife tells me this is a quote but he hasn't remembered from where currently). I'm glad you enjoyed last chapter, and I hope this one lived up to your expectations. Aren't they just so cute? I hadn't planned on touching on the subject of children and Kyoko's thoughts on it so early, but her mother's words triggered something I suppose. If nothing else, the hard people in Kyoko's life certainly know how to make her address the things she needs in order to mature. That's basically what I'm using Sho and Saena for in this fiction, driving forces for her to overcome._

 _Guest- I'm sorry for troubling you. I'm very bad about self-depreciation and a serious lack of self-preservation. It's been a problem since I was very young, actually. I've always known there are a lot of things wrong with me (mentally, emotionally, and physically), but I don't know what they are. I just focus on what I can do while I can. Shoot me a PM if you ever want to talk. I don't get a lot of social interaction outside of work, so I'm always open to finding people to converse with, so long as you don't mind my gloomy tendencies._

 _Thanks to the others for reviewing as well. I really appreciated it, including those who have corrected my grave errors. I hope you enjoyed, and I'll see you in the next chapter._


	13. Chapter 13

_I've been feeling most of my creativity flow to drawing for the past few days, but I directed as much as I could into writing for your sake._

 _Kyoko has never wanted children. She never thought she could possibly come to raise children one day due to the cold and harsh aditude she lived through with her own mother. When she was made aware that a consequence of that decision would also mean Kuon's denial of ever becoming a father, she started to question it. Now she has a lot to consider, but she's happy to find she has time to consider her options. Nothing has to happen right away._

 _Enjoy_

* * *

Ren had not run there, despite Kyoko's continued belief in him having supernatural abilities. As it turned out, he apparently asked her if she was with Kanae the moment he found her apartment empty. When she responded that she had left, he had instantly hopped in his car, already suspecting the truth that she hadn't called for a ride. He had pushed through his nerves of driving in a less than steady state of mind purely out of his desire to get to Kyoko and ensure she was okay. It had also helped that the roads were far less busy at one in the morning and that she had been on the phone talking to him. From there, finding her had only taken a little deductive reasoning to find the park closest to the Kotonami home, looking up in the trees that would be easiest to climb as he kept his ears open for Kyoko's voice as she talked to him on the phone.

"I'm a bit flattered that you have so much faith in my abilities Kyoko, but I'm afraid that kind of super-speed sprint in out of the realm of human ability." Ren stated, chuckling lightly at her pout. She crossed her arms and looked away from him as he held the car door open for the girls.

Kanae awkwardly shuffled her feet as she contemplated the night. She felt a bit awkward to accept a ride back to her place after what she had said to Kyoko little more than an hour ago. How would the man react when he inevitably discovered that Kanae essentially told Kyoko that they should break up if they couldn't agree on something as life-changing as children? She still felt it was a harsh reality, but it didn't make this any less awkward for them.

Ren didn't question them on the drive back to Kanae's home, the man purely focusing on the drive as the two girls sat in a heavy silence. Kanae expected the younger girl to simply have Ren drive her back home, surprising her by getting out as well at the Kotonami household.

"Do you want to continue Girl's Night at my place? You haven't gotten the chance to come over yet." Kyoko offered with a small smile as they stood next to Ren's parked car. Kanae stared with shock for a moment.

"You... are you sure? You were pretty upset just an hour or so ago." Kanae pointed out worriedly. Kyoko smiled lightly as she nodded.

"I was upset. I didn't want to hear my best friend telling me something like that, but I think I can see where your logic came from. I'm not going to jump into doing anything right away, but I do want to talk to you about various things some more. But..., can Kuon stay with us? I know it's girl time and everything, but..., I don't want him too far away at the moment." She explained. Kanae agreed readily. She was honestly just glad that Kyoko wasn't burning their friendship in a dramatic blazing fire.

Waiting patiently in the car, Ren pondered over Kyoko's sudden change of heart as the girls went inside to pack up. Kanae's family would definitely recognize the seasoned actor, and the Kanae really didn't want to deal with the questions and speculations that would come from her family seeing him there with them.

Kyoko found herself watching all the kids, sprawled out and passed out on the floor from a long day of playing roughhouse. Kanae has such a large family, with so many children running about whenever their energy allowed. She paused as she saw one of Kanae's sisters busily throwing a blanket over a kid that had rolled and kicked it off, a soft smile on the woman's face. She looked so happy. Kyoko wanted to asked the woman what it was like, how she managed to become such a loving and caring mother, but her own uncertainty held her back. She didn't know the woman all that well, and how was she supposed to explain this sudden curiosity?

Kyoko shook her head quickly as she rid herself of the thoughts. She didn't need to worry about this right now. Kuon's suggestion that he sterilize himself as an alternative had already shaken her consideration of that option. She didn't want him to do something like that, and she could only imagine how he had felt at her own lighthearted comment on it that morning. Everything felt so jumbled and mixed up now. No, there was no need to figure it out right away. She was suddenly very glad they hadn't started having sex yet. She would feel considerably more pressed to make a decision right now if they had.

Kanae soon exited her private room and locked it up before the two of them quietly left, slipping into Ren's car and heading over to Kyoko's apartment.

"You're staying, right?" Kyoko asked. Ren glanced at her in the rear view mirror uncertainly.

"I can if you want. I thought you were spending more time with Kotonami-san. I don't want to get in the way." He explained with a gentle smile. Kyoko shook her head quickly.

"It'll be fine. We just talk about you anyway." She said with a teasing smirk. Ren let out a short little hum at that.

"I'm not sure I should ask what you mean by that." He says in a nervous tone. Kyoko giggles happily, opting out of answering him outright. Ren felt a little more nervous as his mind tumbled with the possibilities of what all they could be discussing about him. Girls were frightening.

.

* * *

"Have you eaten yet, Kuon?" Kyoko asked as soon as they walked into her home. "A proper meal?" She turned and eyed him suspiciously and he raised his hands up in surrender.

"I ate the food provided by the staff at my last job when we broke for dinner." He quickly answered, not wanting to risk her believing he needed another meal so late at night. Kyoko eyed him for a moment, trying to gauge his answer before giving a nod of approval and turning to Kanae with a smile.

"Come on, I need a bath after being out in that tree." She says, grabbing Kanae's wrist and leading her toward the bathroom. Ren pouted lightly as he recalled her reluctance to bathe with him a while back, but quickly shrugged it off as he noted that friends bathing together was totally different than couples bathing together. On top of that, he had been in Japan long enough to know it was a fairly common practice, though he didn't really know what decided between who was willing or not. He just stuck to bathing alone other than occasionally having Kyoko join him lately.

"I'm really sorry." Kanae repeated once again as she sat in the tub with her friend. "I know how much you two care about each other, but that just makes this whole subject even more complicated. I don't want you to feel like you need to do something as permanent as having children just to make a guy happy." Kyoko hummed lightly as she played with the bubbles, lifting little handfuls and trying to shape them the way Cain had during their secret mission, thinking maybe it was something therapeutic. He had made it look way easier than it was.

"I think the real issue was that I was looking into a permanent solution the get rid of a possibility of permanent consequence too far off in the future." The younger girl finally concluded. Kanae looked up at her worriedly. True as that statement may be, one of those solutions was something Kyoko decided based off a personal aversion against having children, while the other was considering going through massive changes in her body to make someone else happy. "I also found that there's another issue I'm facing with all of this." Kyoko sighed heavily.

"Another issue meaning..."

"I want Kuon to be a father one day, but I don't think I could be a proper mother."

"Oh. Well in that case... maybe a surrogate mother? Pregnancy tends to be a big change in a woman's life, so I can't really blame you for worrying about it. I've seen the way it effects my own sisters and brothers. If you get a surrogate though..." Kanae tapered off as Kyoko shook her head.

"I'm not worried about pregnancy itself, Moko-san, not really. I know that kind of thing isn't easy, but what I'm really worried about is raising the child itself. I don't know how to be a good mother. I don't know if I could give it the love and happiness I was denied." She admitted. Kanae frowned as she crossed her arms on the edge of the tub and rested her chin on them.

"I can't imagine you being anything but a loving parent, though." She admitted. Kyoko was completely shocked, letting out a noise of confusion and surprise. Kanae released a short laugh. "Don't act so surprised. I mean, just look at how well you interact with Maria-chan. Well..., maybe for everything except for when it comes to crying... Would you still scorn her for crying? Or was that just you being freshly bitter after having your heart broken?" Kyoko looked to her friend oddly as she tried to recall what Kanae was talking about. You could see the very moment recognition registered as he eyes widened and her mouth made a little o.

"You know..., I think I would be a lot more worried about her crying now that I know her better. Maybe I'm just bad at loving people right away? I can't see myself worrying too much over an unknown child crying, save for telling them to calm down and think about their problem rationally. Crying doesn't solve any problems other than releasing emotions, after all." Kanae hummed lightly in agreement.

"Tsuruga-san would probably be the opposite. He seems like the type to worry about people just because they're upset." Kyoko nodded her agreement. She could already think of several instances when Ren helped people in distress. She had received his comfort and guidance multiple times, and she had seen how he calms his coworkers when they became distressed over their lines. He had even helped Director Ogata through a panic attack when... Kyoko groaned as she buried her face in soapy hands, then quickly wiped away the bubbles to spare her eyes.

"What?" Kanae asked worriedly, looking over to the other girl.

"I just remembered some things that are suddenly making a lot more sense. It's no wonder Tsuruga-san knew how to help someone having a panic attack over something he's also had to experience in the past." Kanae gave her an odd look, not really understanding such cryptic words. Kyoko heaved a sigh as she explained how the director of Dark Moon seemed to have a lot of trouble with being compared to his father, so much so that he would have a straight up panic attack when mentioned. Kanae felt it was a little extreme, but it wasn't like someone had control over when they got an attack like that.

"I can't really imagine someone like Tsuruga Ren having a panic attack, though. Maybe because he seems to sturdy?" Kanae mused. Kyoko frowned lightly at that.

"I've seen it a few times, though it's been significantly less ever since he finished a difficult role he took on, and he doesn't show it as much as the director did." Kanae looked to her worriedly. It sounded like this was actually a pretty common occurrence for the man.

"Are you sure these are panic attacks?"

"I don't know what else you would call them." Kyoko stated, looking back to her friend. "It's like he's struggling against himself, like he's falling apart and his blood goes cold. I was worried that he was having one this morning, when he froze up and didn't respond for a couple minutes, but then he just pushed himself up and went about his day as if there was no one but the character Tsuruga Ren."

"That sounds like a coping mechanism to me." Kanae observed. Kyoko nodded her agreement. "You seem pretty confident that he would be a great father despite that. Do you think that's why he ended up agreeing with you?" Kyoko heaved a sigh as she let her arms hang over the side of the tub.

"I don't know. It's probably a part of it. He told me that he didn't want to put his children through the things he experienced as a child, but I want him to experience the love of a family."

"What about you?" Kanae cut in. Kyoko looked at her with confusion and the older girl rolled her eyes as she elaborated. "You make it sound like the family would only be his, that you would just be a mother, but _you_ would be 'experiencing the love of a family' as well. It's something you two would be experiencing together..., assuming you two really do decide to get married and have children of course." She added quickly. She didn't want Kyoko to feel like she needed to go through with these things because it was expected of her or something. She had already worded things poorly once tonight. She didn't need to do something careless all over again.

"I think..., I don't really need it, but perhaps it would be nice?" Kyoko hummed lightly, propping her chin up in her hand as she leaned against the tub edge.

"No one _needs_ to have children, Kyoko. Well..., maybe Japan as a whole, considering our declining population and birth rates, but no individual needs to have children. People have children because that's how humans reproduce. Not everyone tries to have children, and not everyone wants to, but children are people that came about despite all odds, and you are also the result of someone having a child, no matter the unhappy circumstances around it. It doesn't matter why you're here. I'm just glad that you are." Kyoko turned misty eyes on her friend and Kanae braced herself as she anticipated the tackling hug Kyoko provided out of her joy.

* * *

Ren startled as he heard a violent splash and loud squeals from the bathroom. Turning slowly to look at the door, he nervously contemplated knocking and making sure they were okay.

"Mo! Get off me! Ugh!" Kanae's voice was heard through the door and the man tried not to picture the two girls enjoying bare-skinship too vividly. Letting his mind wander with such an image too much would make him feel more like a pervert than he was willing to allow. Shaking his head quickly, he went back to trying to sleep on Kyoko's couch. The sound of splashing and Kyoko giggling adorably wasn't really helping matters for him.

"Mo, get up!" Ren's eyes snapped open as he felt a pillow smack into his face, blinking a couple times to clear his vision and sleep addled mind before sliding his gaze over to his assailant.

"Miss Kotonami..." he greeted slowly. She rose her eyebrows curiously at him as she took in the exposed green eyes.

"Wow, I guess you really do wear contacts. It's kind of weird, but I suppose it's a good look for you." she complimented. Ren stared at her oddly.

"Thank you?"

"Sure, now get up. Shoo. I want to go to bed." She stated as she shooed him with a wave of her hand. Ren sat up and ran a hand through his hair uncertainly as he tried to make sense of what was going on. The distinct sound of Kyoko giggling had him turning to catch her smiling face, the girl raising a hand out to him as if asking for him to hand her something. With nothing else to give her, he automatically placed his hand in her own. That seemed to be the correct answer, as she beamed happily at him and tugged him to stand. As soon as he was off the couch, Kanae threw her pillow and blanket down and laid in his place, clearly getting ready to sleep. Ren looked to Kyoko with confusion and she giggled again, reaching up and smoothing out some of his disheveled hair.

"She's not sleeping in your bed with you?" he asked even as he rubbed one sleepy eye with the heel of his hand.

"Pft, as if!" Kanae stated a bit harshly. "I like my space and, if what I've heard is true, you cuddle just as much as she does. Go snuggle so I don't have to." she waved them off before curling up deeply into the couch. Ren scratched at his head curiously as Kyoko lead Ren into her bedroom and urged him into the sheets. He still didn't really get it, but he wasn't going to object to having Kyoko in his arms as much as possible.

.

* * *

.

.

"Ren, why did I find sterilization procedures in your mobile search history?" Lory asked grimly, sitting behind his desk in yet another outfit that looked like it belonged from a couple centuries ago. The actor in question sighed as he crossed his arms defensively, his girlfriend looking a bit distressed beside him. Lory eyed the two of them with a stern gaze before he reached into a leather satchel hanging on his hip, producing a box that he promptly tossed at Ren. After catching it easily, he was startled to find it to be a fairly large box of condoms, promptly throwing it back at the older man with quite a bit more force than necessary. Lory seemed to have expected this kind of reaction, dodging the projectile as he released a heavy sigh. "Now Ren, don't be like that. If you're that worried about safe sex, there are more reasonable solutions than hastily cutting your cords. If this is about the possibility of the press finding out that you're purchasing something that proves you are sexually active, we have ways to get around it."

"I am _not_ sexually active." Ren clarified instantly. Lory rose his eyebrows at the actor disbelievingly and Ren sighed heavily. "I was only looking up things about birth control and the like the other day because it came up in conversation." he explained, trying not to give away too much about his and Kyoko's personal conversation. The young talent fidgeted lightly in her seat next to him. She could easily tell that Ren was trying to respect her privacy, but this looked really bad without the proper information.

"It's my fault President-san." she said quickly, bowing in her seat. Lory paused whatever retort her had on his tongue, glancing between his favorite couple with uncertainty. "I talked to Tsuruga-san that morning about how I never wanted to have children before, and how I never ever wanted them in the future. It had me considering sterilization so that I never had to worry about it, and he was worried about what kind of risks that entailed for me. He was only looking up that kind of thing because he wanted to ensure I was making a well-educated and safe decision when the time comes for us to consider pregnancy as a risk of our actions." she explained, trying to word in in the least embarrassing way as possibly. Lory heaved a heavy sigh as he leaned back in his chair.

"I see. You understand these sterilization procedures are permanent, don't you?" Kyoko nodded quickly. That had been the entire point of her considering it in the first place, but she had been surprised to find herself doubting that decision as soon as the weight of that choice became apparent, namely how it would effect her lover. Lory sighed lightly. "I know birth control isn't covered by insurance, but that's no reason to get hasty."

"Wait, birth control isn't covered by insurance?" Ren asked, surprised at the news. Lory shook his head.

"Not here in Japan, it isn't. Some women still use them, but a vast majority stick to buying condoms as their form of contraception." he informed. "If it would be preferable to you, we can make an arrangement to regularly get birth control to you." Kyoko denied it slowly.

"I gave it a lot of thought already. I don't plan on considering sterilization _for either one of us_ at the moment." She explains, making sure to really drive it home to Ren that it wasn't currently an option for them. "For now," she continued as she turned back to Lory, "I had been wanting to think things over and do some of my own research while it wasn't an issue." Lory glanced between the two of them a few more times, concluding that Ren must have said something on the subject that pushed her to understand the gravity of it.

"I see... Well, I still think you should keep the condoms just in case. They have a shelf life of three to five years, depending on the type, so I doubt they will go to waste. Don't worry Ren, I made sure to get the proper size for you." Kyoko turned bright red as Ren shot his president an unimpressed glare. He didn't even want to ask about the size tidbit, though he was pretty sure it was a joke. Ruto walked over and placed the slightly abused box in Ren's hand, the actor heaving a sigh as he accepted it.

"I'm not sure I feel comfortable carrying this around with me all day." he admitted, glancing at the box. He also wasn't sure he felt comfortable about having the option in the first place. The constant desire to have Kyoko in such an intimate way was already fairly strong. With this not-so little box in his possession...

"What does ribbed mean?" Kyoko's curious voice jolted him out of his reverie, making the man groan heavily as he slouched and placed his face in his hand. Lory looked positively delighted at Kyoko asking that question so innocently.

"Only one way to find out, isn't there?" Lory practically sang as he suppressed what was likely maniacal laughter. Ren hated that face so much. He sighed heavily and shook his head.

"And how exactly do you expect me to walk out of here with this giant box of condoms without someone drawing false conclusions?" the actor ground out as he waved the 100 pack of variety condoms around.

"You're a healthy young man. Boys your age are always good at coming up with creative ways to hide their naughty things."

"Gee thanks, mom." Ren huffed and rolled his eyes. Kyoko felt like she had somehow ended up in some kind of comedy, yet Ren and the company president seemed perfectly content with their lighthearted jabs and bickering. Is this considered normal for them?

"Don't roll your eyes at me, mister." Lory sniffed and raised his nose as he looked away dramatically. Kyoko looked to Lory's assistant uncertainly, the man only providing her with a small smile of reassurance. That meant this was commonplace for them, right? This was so strange.

* * *

"That was mortifying." Kyoko groaned as they exited the office. Ren chuckled lightly alongside her.

"You'll get used to it after a couple years." He assures before turning to find Yashiro walking toward them. The manager froze up as he saw Ren's blinding smile in place, anger rolling off of him. "Now then, I wonder why President Lory felt the need to look into my browsing history all of a sudden?" Ren ground out slowly. Yashiro squeaked with freight as he cowered before the taller man.

"You... you can't blame me for going to him about it!" He defended desperately. "You were acting so strange. I was worried that both of you would let the problem build up until it was uncontrollable. Just look how long it took for us to get you two together!" He was practically whining at this point, sounding like a put-off child. Kyoko half expected the grown man to stomp his foot in frustration.

"Well, it's all been settled now. There's just one thing." Ren hummed before holding his hand out to Kyoko. She looked puzzled for a moment before jolting in understanding and fishing in her bag. Yashiro's eyes bugged as she produced the excessive box of condoms, placing it in Ren's palm. The actor thanked her before grabbing Yashiro's own hand and gently passing the box along, that threatening smile twitching lightly in the corners. "Seeing as it is your fault that this item has been pushed upon me, I'm leaving it with you." Yashiro sputtered as he looked down at the unopened box... why did it look battered in the corners and edges?

"Let's get going, shall we? We don't want to be late because of someone's carelessness." Ren said as he started to walk off. Kyoko quickly trotted behind him, glancing back at their frozen manager.

"Will he be okay?" She asked worriedly. Ren gave a short snort at that.

"He'll be fine. Something like that won't hurt someone. Just give him some time to reboot while we grab your things. Did you decide which job you want to take on?" He asked. Kyoko let out a soft hum as she heard the quick footsteps of their manager catching up to them.

"I'm a bit divided. I really like the idea of being a mermaid, even a dark version of one, and it would be an interesting job, not to mention a good opportunity to expand on my abilities, but it says I'll be having to travel to on-sight locations for it, and that means I'll be limited on what other jobs I can do and when." She explained, pulling out two folders and handing over 'The Mermaid's Dive.' Ren didn't even hesitate to hold it for her as she leaned through the other folder as they walked.

"That one is also a more minor role than this one in 'Passed and Present'*. The prospect of playing a myschevious ghost is appealing, and it's more of a major role, not to mention most of the filming being in studio with winter coming up. Getting into the water even in early spring sounds a bit risky." She explained. Ren hummed thoughtfully at that.

"They likely have something on standby to ensure the health and safety of the actors isn't put at risk. Models often have to wear summer clothes in cold weather and winter clothes in warm weather to accommodate the time between shoots and when it actually gets published for the seasonal wear." Kyoko snapped her head to look at him quickly.

"What, really? I guess a lot of work goes into editing and constructing the actual magazines, huh? It's a bigger job than just taking pictures and looking pretty." She frowned as soon as she saw that grin pulling at Ren's lips.

"You think I'm pretty?"

"Shut up pretty boy. You're voice ruins your face." Kyoko huffed in annoyance. Ren pouted and she covered his face with her hand, laughing playfully and desperately trying to hold back her blush as she felt the feathery touch of his lips placing a quick kiss on her palm.

"We can discuss the schedule for each of he jobs and see if we can accept both of them, if you like." Yashiro cut in, watching with silent joy as the two interacted. Kyoko released Ren's face in favor of looking to Yashiro, her boyfriend quietly grabbing her shoulder to guide her as she walked backwards in the hall.

"We can? Amazing, having a manager really makes things easier!" She praised as she glanced up at Ren joyfully, and then her face fell with worry. "Oh, but... if I'm too busy, it will take from your time for Tsuruga-san." She notes. Yashiro nodded lightheartedly.

"It's already been decided that times when I have to chose, I should stay with you Kyoko-chan." The two men could instantly see the rejection on her face and Yashiro held up a calming hand. "I know you feel hesitant to allow it, but it's true that Ren has a bit more leniency on his movement. For one, he can drive himself wherever he needs to be while you only have your bike. You really need to be more aware of yourself, especially as you take on more and more jobs." Kyoko wilted, remembering a time that she gave Ren a short reprimand for being unaware of his own fame. She didn't think she was even close to the same level he was at the time, but perhaps she was being a bit similar in her lack of self-awareness.

"Still, I don't like the feeling that I'm taking things from Tsuruga-san. I feel like a thief." She grumbled somewhat bitterly. Ren chuckled and pat her head affectionately before leading them into the garage.

"You can steel my very soul if you so please." He states smoothly. Kyoko rolled her eyes as Yashiro failed to hold in a squeal of delight.

"So, you think I should take them both if I can? What if it turns out I can only have one?" She asked with concern. Ren rose his eyebrows curiously.

"Are you asking me to make the decision for you?" He asked cryptically. Kyoko sputtered for a moment.

"No, of course not! I was just..., I wanted a second opinion, your educated advice!" She exclaimed somewhat forcefully. Ren looked up thoughtfully as he opened the car door for her.

"Well..., I would say to go with the one you find more interesting personally. They're both very promising for different reasons. We also have a book for the mermaid role, which will help with understanding the thoughts and emotions a little more thoroughly than a script. However, that also means there is a bit more pressure to create a character that fits the role seamlessly. With playing as the ghost, there's a bit more creative leniency, though you would still have to fit with the director's demands for the role." Kyoko nodded along, easily recalling a couple times she had stirred up trouble while developing her characters.

"It might be good to try something a little more laid out. Even with Mio, I took some liberties while developing her." She recalls slowly.

"Luckily, Director Ogata was looking for something with more impact than just following the original." Ren smiled down at her and Kyoko responded with her own bright smile. She still felt so proud of her work from that time.

"I miss working together on a project with you. It's a shame that we couldn't work on 'White Lotus' together." She sighed. Yashiro pouted as he drove, keeping his eyes on the road as he listened in to the conversation.

"I said I was sorry." He stated mournfully. Kyoko quickly shook her head and waved her arms about in objection.

"We really don't hold that against you, Yashiro-san! I was just stating that it would be nice to work together again!"

"Of course, of course. In that case, shall I make 'Passed and Present' a priority with 'Mermaid's Dive' being a possibility?"

"Yashiro..." Ren groaned out heavily, a tinge of irritation in his voice as Kyoko looked between them curiously.

"Wait, you would be working in 'Passed and Present' as well, Tsuruga-san?" She asked, her eyes growing wide. Why didn't he want her to know? Ren sighed and crossed his arms as he leaned back in the seat.

"I didn't want you to chose the job just because I would be working in it. I'm sure you would do a wonderful job, but you should focus on the roles that will impact your own career best. Auditioning for Momiji was great, but it's still true that the driving force in that decision had initially been wanting to work with Miss Kotonami." He explained. Kyoko frowned down at her hands and fiddled her thumbs.

"That's true, but I didn't let the fact that she wasn't cast effect my professionalism and attitude once I got it." She pointed out. Ren smiled proudly as he agreed.

"I know you can be professional and amazing at whatever task you take on, but I still wanted you to chose without bias." He repeated. Kyoko sighed and leaned head head against the window as she considered that.

"I think it would be good for getting more diverse roles. I'd like it best if I could do both, though."

"I'm sure we can work something out." Yashiro interjected. "It helps that they start filming in the spring while Passed and Present is in the winter. The Mermaid's dive will be making specialized tails for the actors, so they're finding out the roles fairly early on." He explained. Kyoko was drifting into fairy land quickly, clasping her hands together as stars danced in her eyes.

"Being a mermaid will be so lovely." She sighed happily.

"And having the extra time before filming starts will give you an opportunity to read up on the story." Ren suggested. Kyoko pulled out the paperback from her bag, looking it over again with a bit of concern.

"I'm almost worried that I'll like the role less if I read the main character's tragedy." She admitted. Ren placed a comforting hand on hers as she held the book, prompting her to look up at him curiously. The man smiled in response.

"If you like, we could read it together." She felt oddly excited at the thought, nodding with an excited grin and causing him to chuckle.

"You could even read it to me while I make dinner most nights!"

"Only if you check under my bed for monsters afterward." He teased. Kyoko laughed openly at him.

"Sure, I'll keep all the baddies from you while you sleep." Yashiro bit his tongue to keep from squealing in delight, doing his best to focus on parking the car in the TBM parking lot and gathering his case. The small party was just about to enter the building when Kyoko heard the last voice she wanted to calling out.

"Tsuruga! I want to talk to you!" The three of them turned to see Fuwa Shotaro standing with a defiant look on his face, the singer shooting a quick disapproving scowl at Kyoko. Ren frowned as he tucked his hands in his pockets to ensure he didn't do anything rash, squinting at the unwelcome visitor.

"What is it Fuwa?" He asked with a steady tone as he took a small step to shield Kyoko from his gaze. Sho quietly took in the movement, glancing at the two others.

"I want to talk to you in private." He ground out through his teeth. Yashiro and Kyoko looked to one another worriedly. Neither thought that would be a very good idea, knowing how much Ren disliked Kyoko's past crush. The girl's concern peaked as Ren plastered on his most dazzling smile, anger rolling off him in waves as he faced the boy.

"Of course Fuwa, I would very much enjoy a private conversation with you." He stated with a chilling tone. Sho felt a shiver race up his spine, doing his best to hide his unease. His pride wouldn't let him back out now.

* * *

Well, I wonder how many of you are looking forward to the conclusion of that conversation. I know there was quite a bit of steam from people unhappy to see Fuwa showing up before. This certainly isn't looking good for him.

"passed and Present"- I know I have a bad tendency to miss mistakes of grammar and spelling in my brief readthroughs before posting, so I want to make sure you guys know this is intentional. It's a pun centered around when someone "passed away" but the ghost is there, hence the name. Most people don't laugh at my jokes, but I say them anyway. *shrug*

Author Responses

panda00- I definitely agree. Along with all things centered around intimacy, it's important to make sure all involved parties take responsibility. I had to consider a lot of things when writing last chapter, like if I'm having Kyoko act too careless and brash, but having her react in any other way just didn't feel right. She's a dramatic person after all, and while she can be logical, she doesn't always take the time to slow down and consider things. I think she's getting better about it as she grows though, which makes me very happy.

Kaname671- thank you for your comment. It made me laugh every time I read it. Kyoko and Kuon both have a lot of things they need to get over, though Kuon has understandably been working on that for five or so years already. Something tells me that he would be a little less agreeable overall if we met him when he only just arrived at LME. The chapters that give a glimpse into that time make me think he was in a very fragile state of mind, and I don't know if he would have been able to handle Kyoko as well as he has throughout the series. The Ren we have now is the result of years of work and a slowly strengthened spirit. It makes one wonder how things would have gone if the roles were switched, if Kyoko had already been there for a number of years and healing herself when a young and falling-apart Kuon appears. Would she be able to help him and guide him the way Ren has for her? Somehow, I can't really see it going as smoothly.

YumeMila- I'm glad you are enjoying my writing thus far, and that it's reaching it's goal of being a healthy and logical point of view to intimacy. As for the stereotypes, I want to make sure I'm not giving the impression that any character represents a group as a whole. I've never been a big fan of representative characters, because no group is comprised of a single kind of person. No matter what race, gander, age, sexuality, etc you look at, there are a wide variety of people. There are some things I enjoy pressing on, like the fact that Ren is open to researching and doing just about anything Kyoko asks of him. I think it's important for people to maintain a healthy relationship through mutual responsibility, honesty, and understanding of their relationship. There are other things that are debunked because I've talked to various people and have learned it's a misconception, like the fact that a vast majority of men have in fact tasted their own cum at some point in their lives, though most would never admit it (it's usually something they do when they're young and are learning about their own bodies). For anything talking about consequences and effects of their actions, I do research and use statistics to decide for anything with a variety. I don't know what all I may have debunked, but almost everything I've written about has had a real-life instance I've experienced, seen, or heard from direct parties. I know the world is harsh and judgmental when it comes to things surrounding intimacy, and it's something I've also struggled with due to my parents' beliefs and upbringing (my older brother was afraid to even look at a woman throughout his school years because of how we were taught). I think it would be great if we could have non-fiction novels that explore intimacy in a healthy way like this, but for now I'll be happy that there are people out there that find comfort in my little fanfiction.

Hairy Friend- I'm responding to both your comments from the last two chapters here, if that's okay.  
Concerning Aika, I understand that she's a bit... aggressive? Overly passionate? Passionately aggressive? I haven't really gone too deep into her story, mostly because I have a dislike of making a fanfiction that centers around an original character. She's meant to have a story but not overpower the main characters (and romance) that people are sure to have truly come to read my story for. I can get more into her story and why she feels as strongly as she does if people want me to, but I didn't want to shove an OC in too much in the middle of a story about Ren and Kyoko. She's really just meant to be another love-me member that is dealing with a life that has lead to a similar feeling of distrust toward love. I feel the need to correct you on one thing, however. I find that family effects us far more than lovers, at least up to a certain point. I've watched my older sister struggle to find a healthy relationship for years, dealing with cheating, childishness, users, verbal abuse, manipulation, on and on and on. It was always very difficult for her, but I noticed over the years that she was effected far more by our father's actions. She would even react more to him commenting on her eyeliner being thick far more than she ever cared about a boyfriend saying anything (like, there was a shouting match over eyeliner, I kid you not. I have no idea if that's normal for girls, though). When it comes down to it, the thing that truly hurts about the actions of our fathers/mothers/lovers/family/etc. is the feeling of betrayal. Kyoko was betrayed by Sho, used and tossed aside after years of her feeling like she had no one else. Aika feels betrayed by her father, a man that is meant to stay by their family's side no matter the hardships, and instead he just up and left. There's a lot more that stems into her hatred of trusting men with your emotions, but meta-gaming is no fun. :p  
-as for your other comment, I understand completely, and I hope I conveyed that pretty well in this chapter. Kyoko was considering sterilization **because** of how absolutely permanent it is. She's still a kid, even if she is growing up quickly. I'm not saying it's the right way to go about it, but there are a lot of teens out there who think they never ever want to have children and then get upset when people tell them they can't know how they'll feel in the future, that they shouldn't be so rash as to do something as permanent as sterilization. You would be surprised how many times I've heard teen girls talk about it as if it was nothing. I didn't mean to advertise pull-out in any way either. I was probably trying to over-simplify a process and relationship that is far more complex due to thinking most people probably don't care too much about my own sex life. If it's any consolation, my significant other and I abstained for the first four to five years, sticking to "outercourse" which is what Kuon and Kyoko have been doing. It wasn't until we started seriously considering marriage and a life together that we started having "Intercourse" (penis in vagina) five years into dating. We were very careful about using condoms at first, but along five more years of that, I have to admit that we became careless sometimes. It's up to the individuals on how to go about it. If they feel like being careless and gambling that possibility, then that's what they'll do. If they're very careful people and don't even want to consider the possibility of children, then they'll be much more careful and probably use condoms as well as some form of birth control. I only expect people to be informed and understand the possible consequences of their actions. I hope this cleared any concerns you may have had. Sorry about the huge reply text, but I didn't want to give something vague. I have a problem with being misunderstood. I honestly have no idea how my closest friend and my significant other have learned to read between the lines, because I even confuse myself sometimes. u_u

MWEH -just for you, I made sure to include a brief explanation on how Ren found Kyoko. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and look forward to the next one.


	14. Chapter 14

_The holidays are coming up quickly. So much to do, so little time, and my wife and I are hosting Christmas for our family this year. I don't care for decorations, but she and his mother are, so I'll likely be dealing with that. On top of that, there are a few things I want to get done before the holiday, but I'm very bad at getting a whole lot done after a draining day of work. I'll try to crank out some chapters in between everything. This chapter is just a little short, but I have some ideas growing that just need to be fit into the proper spot on the timeline._

 _enjoy._

* * *

Kyoko and Yashiro felt incredibly anxious and antsy as Ren followed Sho to a secluded part of the garage.

"I don't like this." Yashiro stated nervously as he watched them go. Kyoko nodded her agreement. Ren would stay in control of himself right? He's interacted with Sho before, but he felt _really_ angry this time for some reason. She couldn't think of anything in particular that would blow his anger up like that.

"I don't want to leave them alone together." She agreed, still watching where they had disappeared behind a corner. "Tsuruga-san seems like he's in a bad mood."

"This feels too similar to that other time." Yashiro whimpered, causing Kyoko to look at him with confusion. "No, ah..., when we saw you in the car with Fuwa at this very garage, that time. Fuwa found Ren later I suppose, and he must have said something to truly upset Ren. The whole day had people commenting to me that even Tsuruga Ren is able to have bad days." He tried to explain. Kyoko groaned and crouched in place, holding her head mournfully. Sho had some kind of super power of getting under people's skin. She knew he had even managed to prod her seemingly unshakable mentor a few times in the past, but she never imagined Sho could push Ren so far that even his professionalism suffered.

"This is bad. There's no way that this can end well. We need to intervene."

"Right!" Yashiro agreed instantly, nodding his head with force. "Maybe we can cut the conversation short, tell Sho that he either needs to make an appointment or give Ren his number or something. We have work to do after all, and Ren is never one to be late to an appointment." Kyoko nodded along eagerly. It seemed like a good plan. "I'll go on ahead to ensure everything is ready for both your jobs, you go intervene." Kyoko froze and stared at Yashiro in wide-eyed shock.

"What? Me? Shouldn't Tsuruga-san's manager be in charge of gathering him for his job?" She asked anxiously. He was throwing a fragile girl like her to the wolves! How could he expect her to get between those two? You would have to be a super hero!

"You're the one that they both have ties to. No doubt that this is about you in the first place, so it's only natural that you would be best suited for the job."

"Me? You're saying I caused this kind of thing?" She asked, waving somewhat violently in the direction the two celebrities had left.

"Ren never had any connection to Sho before you came around."

"Sho has _always_ hated Tsuruga Ren, that has nothing to do with me!"

"Ren only responds because of you." Kyoko fell silent as her jaw hung open. That couldn't be, could it? She groaned as she gripped her head again. To think, all this time she had been in the middle of some weird strife between the two of them.

"This is all because Sho is a pompous little brat." She grumbled, standing and marching toward her doom.

* * *

"You're an idiot, probably worse than Kyoko." Sho snapped as soon as they seemed to be in a secluded area. Ren rose his eyebrows curiously at the boy as he spun on him, glaring up at the actor.

"I'm sorry Fuwa, but I have work to do. I don't really have time to waste on you tossing around insults for no reason." He stated coolly, his slightly narrowed eyes following the singer's movements. He was like a wild cat waiting to pounce on his prey, and Sho was pushing himself to not back down and show any weakness before that gaze. This man was a true monster in the flesh.

"Don't you even care?" He took a tiny step toward Ren, trying to stomp it and gain some ground, mustering up his courage against the towering shadow. He tried not to let himself be intimidated by this monster being just a tad taller than him. He wasn't human. It was only natural that he wouldn't have human proportions or something.

"I'm not sure I follow your thought process, Fuwa."

"Kyoko's off gallivanting with some foreigner, you know! Or did you actually believe all that bull crap she fed to the press?" Ren hummed and tilted his head as he sized Sho up slowly. The boy was tense, truly doing his best to stand his ground. Ren was almost impressed, if it weren't for the fact that he loathed this person for all the misdeeds he had committed against Kyoko. Kissing her against her will despite knowing full well that she would never want it, not just once but twice, and after knowing all she had been through, it made Ren's very blood boil.

"Are you scared she'll be taken away for good, Fuwa?" Ren asked carefully. He knew he needed to calm down, but that face just looked so punchable right about now, and it was so easily within range.

"Kyoko is easily deceived. She'll be dirtied and thrown away at the drop of a hat if you don't do something! She won't listen to me, so why haven't you done anything about this?" Sho's voice actually sounded a little desperate, the tone sounding just a tad pleasing to the older man.

"If this man touches Kyoko, will you no longer chase after her?"

" _What_?"

"If this foreign man were to touch Kyoko intimately, would you no longer find her appealing and cease your actions against her?" Ren repeated smoothly, already thinking of a few such things he had done to the girl. It was a great way to distract him from how much he wanted to shove the boy's head against the concrete.

Sho glared up at the man, grinding his teeth furiously.

"You're going to let her be used like that just to try and push me away?"

"It was a simple question, Fuwa."

"Nothing with you is a 'simple question'!" Sho shouted back, pitching his voice mockingly as he quoted his nemesis. "I can't believe you. You truly are a monster to your very core! I thought that I could at least get you to stop that idiot from making a huge mistake, but I see now that you don't really care about anything, do you? You're a damn psychopath!" Ren's glare deepened as he took a step toward Sho, his lips quirking upward in a smirk as the singer took a step back in response.

"Let me make one thing clear, Fuwa Sho~taro," Ren could actually hear the grinding of the boy's teeth as he used his real name, "I care everything about Kyoko. What you don't seem to understand, is that I don't only value her for her purity and innocence. I don't just want her because she's caring and selfless. She could have had a hundred lovers and maybe even a dozen children from past relationships, and I would still think she is the most amazing and desirable woman alive. Her purity and innocence is only a small portion of what I love about her." Sho choked at Ren's blatant declaration of his feelings, clearly not expecting that. "If She were to lose those things, I would only mourn the fact that I could not preserve a part of her, but I would still find more and more things to love about her all the same."

"Stop it! Stop talking like that!" Sho hissed, taking a couple more steps from the man.

"Why? Because you're too weak to admit your own feelings? Or because you realize how weak your feelings are altogether?" Ren goaded. Sho clenched his fists, his body shaking with rage and frustration.

"If you love her so much, why are you letting her get stolen away right from under your nose?" He yelled.

"You think I am?" Ren asked. Sho's eyes snapped to stare at him in wide-eyed shock, finding the man smiling smugly with a relaxed posture, hands tucked into his pockets coolly.

"Ren!" The actor's body went from cool and confident to tense and rigid in an instant, his eyes widening as his body stiffened just from the sound of Kyoko calling out to him. Slowly, his head turned to find Kyoko running over to them, the girl in question looking worried as she glanced between the two boys. "There you are, Ren. Come on, you're going to have to continue your conversation some other time. Yashiro-san can only get so much done before we're expected at our jobs." She urged. Sho stared at her in shock as he watched Kyoko grabbing Ren's elbow with familiarity, trying to tug him along.

"Sorry, Fuwa-san, but if you want to talk to Ren more, you'll need to either schedule an appointment or contact him via phone." She was calling the actor so familiarly, her voice showing no signs of uncertainty as she said his given name again and again. At the same time, he had been pushed down to 'Fuwa-san'? Seriously?

"What kind of joke is this?" Sho spat out, pausing Kyoko's attempts to move a strangely stiff Ren. "You can't be serious. To think that a girl that used to be so pure could become such a slut, throwing yourself at men left and right. Do you like fucking that much? Do you do them both at the same time?" Kyoko's eyes widened in realization and shock at Sho's blatant and vulgar words. She didn't notice Ren moved until she saw him pinning Sho against the wall, gripping both the singer's wrists and smirking as he saw the boy struggle defiantly. "Fuck! What are you doing, idiot! Get off me!" He demanded, kicking out as he tried to free himself of Ren's hold. How was this guy so strong? Ren leaned in closer, and Sho instinctively pulled back, scrunched up and pinned to the wall of the garage by the looming body of the actor. "What are you doing, you freak? Get off!"

"I just think that boys who shoot insults out without thought should think about their own actions more, Sho~chan." Ren hummed against his ear. Kyoko stared in shock, unable to move or look away as she watched Ren easily immobilizing her ex-crush. Sho had been strong, easily holding her against her will when she had tried to escape him in the past. To see him overpowered so effortlessly before her, it was surreal.

"Are you molester as well as a monster now? Oh my god, are you hard? What's wrong with you? I'm a guy you know!" Ren's grin stretched as he leaned in close, his prey turning his head away defiantly.

"But Sho-chan, don't you realize that this is the kind of misdeeds you yourself have committed against Kyoko?" He cooed. Sho turned to object, only to be silenced with a forceful kiss. Kyoko watched with disbelief. What kind of nightmare was this?

.

* * *

.

Yashiro felt relief as he saw his two charges walking up to him, only to grow worried as he saw their expressions. Kyoko looked a bit blue in complexion, her eyes cast downward and away from her secret boyfriend as Ren was looking in the opposite direction, his hands stuffed in his pockets and an unreadable expression on his face.

"Did..., did everything turn out okay? No injuries? Publicity?" ' _Death_?' The manager asked worriedly.

"I think something is wrong, but I have no idea what it could be." Kyoko mumbled out hollowly. Ren glanced at her with a slight frown.

"Like I said, we can discuss it more once we get away from Fuwa."

"Don't you mean Sho-chan." Kyoko muttered, causing Ren to run a hand over his face with a groan. Yashiro looked between them worriedly.

"Should I... give you two some privacy for a bit? We do have a little more time before you'll be needed, Ren. And Kyoko's job has a good hour before she'll be expected as they fix up the costume." He explained. Ren nodded and crossed his arms as he tried to sort out what needed to be done in his head.

"I think that would be good for us, thank you Yukihito." He sighed out. "Oh, and would you mind getting me a toothbrush? Maybe some mouthwash. That little interaction has left me feeling a bit unpleasant." Ren explained. Yashiro looked confused but nodded slowly in agreement. It was a small task to be asked after all. With one last worried glance, the manager lead them into Ren's dressing room and left them to take care of business. He would need to sort things out for Kyoko's new projects, and apparently go buy dental care for Ren. He might need to ask about that later.

"Kyoko, are you okay?" Ren asked after a few seconds of being alone in the quiet room. She peeked over at him uncertainly.

"I'm trying to understand it. My eyes and my brain are having trouble processing what I saw there." She said slowly. Ren awkwardly rubbed at his neck.

"I wanted to teach him a lesson, but violence seemed like a bad idea. I'm not sure how much control I could maintain if I allowed myself to hit him, and I don't even know if he would have really learned anything if I only harmed him physically."

"So you _kissed_ him?" Kyoko asked with disbelief. How did that make any sense?

"I couldn't stand by and let him say whatever he liked about you, trying to throw such accusations at you. I've also been quite upset at the fact that he has stolen your lips twice when he knew how much you would not wish for it, as well as doing such a thing when he knew what a fragile state you were already in during that second time." She finally looked up to him, her eyes searching as a flicker of understanding showed in her expression.

"You wanted him to know what it was like to be kissed by someone he hated and would never want it from." She concludes. Ren smiled softly at her and held open his arms.

"I'm quite upset over the experience as well, you know. Won't you comfort me?" He asked. Kyoko giggled and slipped into his embrace, hugging his waist tightly as she relished in the feel of his arms wrapping around her.

"You're my biggest hero, Tsuruga-san... one question, though." She pulled away to look at him uncertainly, eyeing him as she contemplated something. "Did you really get hard while you were pinning him to the wall like that?" Ren looked away with a cough, a light blush on his cheeks. Wait, really?

"You've only ever called me 'Ren' when we were being very intimate. You can't blame me for that. I only used it to my advantage." He explained. Kyoko stared up at him in shock, quickly thinking over all their time together. It was true, now that she really thought about it. She called him 'Tsuruga-san' in public, 'Corn' and 'Kuon' in private, and only really called him 'Ren' when she was teasing him during their intimate bedroom activities.

"Are you saying that I conditioned you? Like with Pavlov's dog?" She clarified. Ren refused to meet her gaze, opting to pout instead. "Oh my god, so I could just call you Ren and get you hard?" She asked, grinning as she saw his eye twitch in response.

"Now hold on, it's not quite like a switch." He hastily explained as he glanced down at her. "It's just the male body is unpredictable and some things are bound to spur emotions and reactions, hey!" Kyoko giggles as she gripped his butt and pressed her body against him in a grinding motion. Ren pouted down at her with a bit of defiance toward her teasing. It wasn't fair that she was so darn cute even when torturing him like this, the girl wiggling her eyebrows in a suggestive but playful manner.

"Hold onto that frustration, Ren. I think I want to play with you a bit tonight." She hummed and gave a small lick to her lips. Ren groaned and hugged her tight again, slumping his head against her shoulder.

"I feel like I'm being punished. Why am I being punished?"

"Well, you _did_ kiss another man." She giggled, laughter growing stronger as he let out another tortured groan.

"Everything was for you, though." He whined. She hummed and slid her hand up to thread through his hair, playing with the soft strands and quietly noting how he relaxed into her touch.

"I only intervened because it sounded like you were about to reveal yourself to that idiot." She huffed in annoyance. Why should that guy get told something so valuable and precious?

"Eavesdropping is a terrible habit, you know."

"Says the biggest offender." She jabbed back and poked him in the side roughly. "I didn't realize someone could be so nosy."

"Speaking of being nosy, you still haven't told me what your regular job here at TBM is. What was Yashiro saying about a costume?"

"Oh... haha, funny story. Do you happen to like chickens, Tsuruga-san?"

.

.

* * *

.

"That's... I don't really know how to respond to that, Ren." Yashiro admitted, his eyebrows scrunched and a light frown on his face as They ate the lunch provided by the staff in the privacy of his dressing room. Yashiro imagined Ren being frightening in various ways, but never had he thought there could be a threat of the man doing something like kissing as punishment, not like this anyway. Maybe for his girlfriend, but to kiss Sho of all people? It was a joke right? The manager sighed and adjusted his glasses as he only found seriousness in Ren's expression. "Well, he's certainly too prideful to go and tell anyone that he had been overpowered, especially by someone he hates so much. I suppose I can see your logic in it, but... come on, Ren! This is a bit much even for you."

The man in question hummed and swallowed the bite of food in his mouth.

"He started throwing insults at her." Yashiro raised his eyebrows at that before Ren heaved a heavy sigh. "He called her something rather distasteful, then insinuated that she's starting to just sleep around for fun." Yashiro's eyes widened and his jaw dropped as he started to get an idea of just what kind of things Sho had been saying.

"Even so..., surely there are better ways to handle that kind of thing." Yashiro urged. "Even if you're coming to terms with your past, you still have the image of Tsuruga Ren to uphold." Ren frowned as he stared down at his half-eaten food. Was he acting out? He justified that it was for Kyoko's sake that he act as he has, but was that just an excuse?

"Am I breaking character?" He muttered, troubled by that thought. Was Kuon pushing Ren down? He wasn't lashing out and getting violent, but now that someone pointed it out, that wasn't the kind of thing 'Ren' would do. Ren used his wits and words, Kuon used his fists and aggression.

"Well, I don't think I can call this breaking character." Yashiro replied uncertainly. "Kyoko-chan has always effected you and pulled the unexpected out of people. That being said, I hope this kind of thing doesn't happen again. I don't how I could get everything under control if this sort of thing came out to the public." Yashiro shivered just at the thought of how the tabloids would blow up. Ren never had a scandal before, and this was far from the kind of thing he would want to start with. Ren nodded his agreement before taking another small bite of his meal, eating like a bird per usual. He was always like this when he wasn't encouraged by Kyoko to eat. What a troublesome guy.

"Like you said though, we don't need to worry about that kind of thing with Fuwa. He's too prideful, and there weren't any cameras where we were talking." Yashiro wasn't sure how happy he should be that Ren had been so aware of that. It was probably best to simply not get on the actor's bad side...

.

* * *

.

.

Kyoko sighed and rolled around her bed as Kanae looked up from the script she was currently examining.

"Okay, out with it." the older sighed in displeasure. Kyoko paused and let her head lull backward off the edge of the mattress, staring upside-down at her friend. "Don't try and act clueless now! You've been moaning and groaning as you roll around on your bed for god knows how long. What is it already?" she demanded with obvious frustration. She tried not to let her eye twitch as Kyoko released yet another sigh.

"I don't know, Moko-san. It's just..., Sho said some things that really bothered me yesterday." she admitted. Kanae scoffed and rolled her eyes at that.

"Not that I really blame you, as he's an annoying little pest, but what else is new? I'm pretty sure he says more than a couple things that bother you every time you're unfortunate enough to cross path's with him... What?" Kanae pulled backward as Kyoko gazed at her with awe.

"No, you're just..., your speech pattern was a little different there. What character are you studying? They must talk so eloquently." Kyoko asked eagerly as she rolled off the bed and came over quickly. Kanae held the script out of her reach with a frown.

"Oh no you don't. This is about you. Just tell me what was so significant about this instance that managed to get under your skin specifically." She demanded. Kyoko sighed and looked down as she slid to lounge on the floor next to her friend.

"It's just..., he wasn't really wrong. I did use to be a lot more concerned with maintaining my purity. What's happened to me? Have I... have I become a loose woman?" she asked worriedly.

"...What? Kyoko, you're not loose just because you're easing your way into intimacy with someone you're serious about. You're not throwing yourself at him and begging for sex." Kyoko looked away, a blush on her cheeks.

"I mean..., I kind of have."

"Ugh, no. Just... stop it, please. I don't need to imagine that kind of thing. It doesn't matter what Fuwa or anyone else thinks. Your relationship is your own. If you feel like maybe things are progressing too fast, you need to talk to your boyfriend about it. Bottling it up will only boil like an acid until it eats through you and your relationship." Kyoko got that starry eyed look on her face again and Kanae sighed in exasperation.

"So poetic~."

"Why are you so worried about this all of a sudden?" Kanae demanded. She wasn't expecting Kyoko to blush like a neon sign, or the timid poking of her fingertips together.

"It's just..., I had this dream last night because of it..." she explained slowly. Kanae contemplated how to respond to that. She REALLY didn't think she wanted to know about this..., but the curiosity was quickly eating away at her.

"Okay..., so you had a dream about Tsuruga-san?"

"Well... kind of? There was also..., Kuon... as a separate person." Kanae was having difficulty understanding Kyoko's cryptic words, and Kyoko's fidgeting and embarrassed behavior was driving up her curiosity despite her logic telling her that she was not going to enjoy the imagery she was about to unlock.

"You're going to have to explain this a bit better if you want me to help you, Kyoko." The younger girl buried her red face in her hands and let out a long groan of agony.

"Sho asked me if I had sex with Tsuruga-san and my boyfriend at the same time, oblivious that they're the same person, and it plagued my mind so much that I ended up having a dream where I was... um..., I was seducing Tsuruga-san and giving him a... a blowjob, and then Kuon was suddenly there and touching me, and I... oh, it's so embarrassing!" Kyoko wailed and lunged back into her bed, quickly curling herself into a ball within the sheets to hide her shame. Kanae stared after her with jaw-dropped shock.

"That's um," she cleared her throat hastily, "that's some dream, Kyoko. Wow. I mean... good for you?"

"How is this a good thing?" Kyoko's muffled shout came from the sheet ball. "I couldn't look at him at all today! He thinks I'm still mad at him for kissing Sho! Yashiro-san is freaking out-"

"Wait what?" Kanae stood and jumped on the bed, pinning down Kyoko's wiggling form under the covers. "What do you _mean_ he kissed Fuwa?" she demanded. How the hell did something like _that_ happen? Kyoko lay silent for a moment before wiggling under her friend, struggling to find an opening to stick her head out of until Kanae assisted her, finding the girl timidly peeking out from her little shelter from the world.

"... I wasn't supposed to say anything."

"Well, you did, so explain clearly." Kyoko released a long sigh, sitting up and fiddling with her blankets timidly.

"I guess he got really mad when Sho called me a slut..." Kanae visibly held her tongue as fire flared in her eyes. She really hated that little cockroach. "And... I guess he was trying to find an alternative to punching Sho-"

"He should have punched him and then some." Kanae bit out in annoyance before realizing she had cut off her friend. "Sorry, continue"

"He explained afterward that he wanted to make Sho understand what he's done wrong in the past, especially that kissing me against my will was not okay." Again Kanae had to hold her tongue as she tensed up and threaded a string of curses at the singer through her mind. "Looking back on it, I think it truly worked to get the message across. Tsuruga-san though,... he's so strong Moko-san. I had trouble just with Sho before, but Tsuruga-san was able to pin him against the wall so easily." Kanae shook her head quickly.

"Nope, that's enough. You can stop there. I'm not really into boy-love romances, even with my own research. It serves no purpose to me whatsoever." she denied. Kyoko groaned and flopped backward.

"I'm just glad I didn't dream about something like that. I'd rather think about double-teaming the different sides of Kuon rather than..." Kyoko trailed off as another though occurred to her, eyes growing wide as she considered the possibility of a new dream. What if Cain made an appearance in her dreams? Would she be dressed as Setsuka? Setsu was an unpredictable girl. She would probably do something like that so long as she could still monopolize her brother, right? What about Ren's other characters? Katsuki? "What if I get stuck in a loop of intimate dreams with all Tsuruga's characters?" she murmured fearfully. Kanae wrinkled her nose n distaste.

"Okay, ew. Stop thinking like that. You're basically thinking of dreaming about drowning in a sea of sexually charged Tsuruga clones or something." Kanae shivered at the thought and Kyoko laughed at the image of that.

"As if you could clone such perfection." She stated simply, making Kanae gag again.

"You're so gross. Stop that!" she demanded and smacked Kyoko with the closest pillow. Kyoko giggled and snatched up the other one, eagerly hitting the other girl back.

Ren stood in Kyoko's bedroom doorway with disbelief, watching a scene he had believed only to exist in movies. Two beautiful girls, giggling and smacking the other with pillows as they wrestled on the bed. Maybe Kyoko was right. Maybe a girl's friendship truly is something magical. He was quickly becoming a believer, his coat and a small bouquet of flowers slipping out of his hand to lay in a heap on the floor. The sound alerted the two girls, Kanae pausing as she pinned Kyoko to the bed with her fluffy weapon of choice. Kyoko's giggles tapered off as she looked up from under the pillow still pressed to her head.

"Kuon! Oh... um..." She blushed and sat up as Kanae finally lifted the pillow off of her.

"Is this perhaps... a bad time?" he asked, his eyes flicking between the two girls. They were both disheveled and in their pajamas, hair in disarray as they tried to catch their breath. Kyoko cleared her throat and shifted her gaze away, fiddling with the hem of her shirt.

"No, no, it's fine. Um..., did you just want to come over or..."

"I brought you flowers!" he quickly picked up the slightly abused flowers, scratching at his head uncertainly as he looked down at them. "I... You still seemed mad about the other day, and I thought maybe I could try and show how much I really think about you and care for you and such." he tried to explain, seeming to struggle with some premeditated line he had written up. Kyoko chewed her lip as she held in a giggle, sliding off the bed and padding over to him. Ren quietly held out the bouquet, a bit relieved as she gracefully accepted them.

"I wasn't mad at you, Kuon. You already explained yourself, and kissing Shotaro is like... kissing some stray dog that was entirely too affectionate. We can just think of him as the entertainment industry's stray." she proposed.

"I see... If that wasn't what bothered you so much today, then-"

"Kyoko had a naughty dream!" Kanae blurted out, looking smug on the bed. Kyoko instantly tensed up and her cheeks burned with embarrassment as she glared over at her friend. Ren coughed into his fist as he looked away.

"... Well then, you'll just have to tell me about it next time we have dinner together." he proposed. Kyoko's jaw dropped in disbelief as she stared at him, uneasy when he finally peeked back with a mischievous glint in his eyes. "In exchange, I'll be sure to tell you all about my own naughty dreams." he bartered. Kyoko's face felt far too hot as she tried to speak. How does one respond to that? What kind of things did he dream about? How often? What did they do? "I apologize for interrupting your personal bonding night, Miss Kotonami. I hope you both sleep well." he says, giving a meaningful glance to Kyoko.

"You two are so gross together. Definitely made for each other." Kanae groaned with a dramatic roll of her eyes. Ren ignored the comment and tilted Kyoko's face up with a single finger under her chin, smoothly leaning down and giving her a drawn out kiss. She melted, her arms snaking around his neck to simultaneously hold herself up and pull him into an even deeper kiss. Ren had to muster a good amount of his will power to pull away, holding her hips away from him as he rested his forehead against hers. Her eyes were heavy and hazy as she gazed back up at him, her breath just a little shallow.

"Sorry, my little fairy, but I can't intrude any longer. I'll make it up to you tomorrow night?" he proposed. Kyoko chewed her lip as need and desire seemed to fill her veins.

"Promise?" she squeaked out, sounding a little desperate. Ren smirked as he hummed and pulled her against him, wrapping his arms around her petite frame as he hugged her flush against his body. Her hands clenched into the fabric of his shirt as she felt the hard length of him press firmly into her front.

"Only if you make it up to me as well."

"Gladly." she practically moaned before they separated with a less than satisfactory peck on the lips. She guided him out the front door, forcing herself to shut the door and lock it up again before she leaned her back against it and slid down with a heavy sigh. Her mind was a mess. He always had that effect on her. She wished she could do so much more, already.

"I hate to admit it, but it's pretty hot watching you two." Kyoko's head snapped up as she gaped at her friend, jaw falling open in disbelief.

"W-What?"

"You and your boyfriend. I don't think I would mind watching a porno of you two." Kanae tapped a finger to her chin thoughtfully as Kyoko sprung to her feat and started chasing a cackling Kanae about the apartment.

"How can you say that? Moko~!" Kyoko whined desperately.

* * *

 _Like I said, nothing too crazy going on here. That kiss should keep Sho away for a good while, hahaha. I admit, I was a bit hesitant to write it out that way, but it felt like truly the best way to teach him a lesson for his actions thus far. Ren is certainly the kind of character to use his words and wit to bend a situation to his will, while Kuon is a man of action. This was like a little blend of that, as Ren isn't supposed to be violent, but Kuon can't let Sho's misdeeds and harsh words toward Kyoko slide. I'm also a little bit sadistic in my writing, usually killing off my main character's loved ones, but I feel I can't really use that here and thus..., mashing together two people that absolutely loath each other. Hahaha, Sho will probably suffer from nightmares. Seems like a just punishment if you ask me._

 _Next chapter, I believe it's time we got into Kyoko's new jobs. I don't think I'll focus on the script **too** much, seeing as that would take too much from the story of Ren and Kyoko, and even the actual 'Skip Beat' series only shows little snippets instead of entire chapters of the scripts, so I'll try and write it out in an enjoyable manner._

 _Author Responses_

 _puffinzero- I'm glad you are still enjoying this series. It's definitely focusing a lot on the growth of the characters in various ways, so I think it only makes sense for Kyoko and Kuon to address the issues surrounding their childhood. I can't say yet how it'll all pan out, but I hope you continue to enjoy it. I see that I need to up my game to satisfy your hunger for smut. I hope next chapter is a little more to your liking. ;)_

 _Kaname671- Hopefully the outcome of Ren and Sho's talk wasn't **too** predictable without pushing characters into place too forcefully. :p Something I've noted about Ren/Kuon through the series is that Ren has acted as a mask for the years he's been in japan, but Kyoko has pulled more and more personality and passion out of him as we've progressed in the story. I feel like he's survived up until then out of sheer willpower and tossing all his broken pieces into a new shell. That's certainly how I've gotten through some of my toughest times. I also look a lot into something Lory said a while back, that Ren has another half he's constantly struggling with, that Lory doesn't think Ren needs to kill his other half, possibly embrace it instead, but it would be bad if that darker side were to come out victorious. I believe he's talking about the violent and broken person Kuon became. This story is looking heavily into the idea of 'Kuon' and 'Ren' merging into one person rather than one holding the pieces of the other within. I look forward to seeing your response to future developments._

 _Hairy Friend- I'm glad you enjoyed the last chapter. I strive to write in a way that's both accurate and fun. As for Kyoko's educational moments, she's been learning new things constantly, in her every day, but it was certainly the first time in a while that she innocently asked about something so embarrassing, hahaha. I enjoyed writing about Lory's delight in seeing Ren deal with embarrassing topics with Kyoko. I think there's a little bit of Lory in all of us. I do have a tendency to shy away from cliffhangers in this series, and I know why I do as well. Basically, it makes it difficult for me to push ahead in the time line. I don't really like putting huge gaps of time in the middle of chapters. It's usually a couple days at most, because I feel like putting a time gap of more than say... a week, makes it more difficult to follow through the chapter. It's easier for me to skip large chunks of time between chapters, but perhaps I should try to shift out of my comfort zone there? You'll likely notice it with the next chapter. I plan on skipping ahead a little time to get to their new projects, as well as get a little closer to Kyoko's birthday. ;)_

 _Thank you to all who have been reading and commenting on my work. I look forward to seeing you next chapter._


	15. Chapter 15

_Kyoko and Kuon are back in sync, Sho has been driven off for the time being (by a very passionate kiss forced on him from Ren no less), and now Kyoko and Ren are moving on to their new projects. Christmas is fast approaching and with it, Kyoko's eighteenth birthday. So much to do, so little time._

 _enjoy_

* * *

"Kuon," Kyoko coughed and gagged as she put the slice of bread down on its plate, "what is this?" She asked desperately. The man looked over from where he was reading over a recipe.

"Was your nap good?" He asked pleasantly as he watched her hastily gulp down a glass of water. She had been quite tired after her work that day, passing out involuntarily on the couch while he read some of his script. Kyoko sighed as she heavily set the glass on the counter.

"My nap was fine. What is this?" She repeated, pointing to the plate with a few thin bread slices. There was something on it for sure, but all she could really taste was salt and the bitter flavor of something a little burnt.

"Oh, it's garlic bread. I thought I would try making some things you don't usually get to try in Japan." Kyoko frowned as she looked at the short stack of bread. "It goes really well with hamburger steaks."

"It tastes like salt."

"Well, there is salt in it."

"No, Kuon, it _just_ tastes like salt. I'm not sure I like your American food." She says uncertainly. Kuon pouted and grabbed a slice, taking a bite before coughing and setting the bread down. Kyoko watched him hastily refill her glass with water and chug it down.

"No, that's not how it's supposed to taste. Why is it so strong? It's supposed to be a mild taste of salt and garlic." He ensures desperately. Kyoko eyed the bread uneasily before startling as he picked it up and headed toward the trash.

"Wait, what are you doing? Don't waste food!"

"You're not eating this. I'm not eating this. It's inedible." He grumbled in displeasure.

"No! Give me that!" She snatched the plate of salty bread out of his hands and took it over to the counter again. "You just have the balance way off. There's too much salt and garlic with nothing to counteract it. Leave this to me."

"But I wanted to cook for you. You're _always_ doing the cooking."

"Do I need to make you take another bite of this bread?" She asked, brandishing the partially eaten bread in his face. Ren pouted defiantly.

"That was because I was going from what I remembered. I'm using a recipe for the steaks." He insisted. Kyoko pushed the slightly burnt salt-bread a little more in his face. Ren turned his head away, clearly not wanting to eat that again.

"Yeah, that's what I thought. Out of the kitchen with you. Shoo. You can try and redeem yourself on a later date, when I'm not cleaning up after you." She scolded. Ren sulked as he trudged out into the main room and flopped onto the couch like a pouting child. Half an hour later, he heard the clink of plates being set on the coffee table next to him. Turning his head, he peeked out as Kyoko smiled over to him softly.

"Still pouting?" She asked. Ren let out a little huff of defiance and she giggled. "Come on you big baby, I just wanted room to work without any distractions or meddling. You really seemed to have prepared the steaks well." She encouraged. Ren slowly sat up with a sigh, rubbing a hand through his hair to smooth it out.

"Well yeah, I can cook simple dishes fine, especially if it's grilling meat. All you have to do is season and make sure it cooks the proper amount." He said as he poked at his food timidly. "What happened to the salt bread?"

"I blended it into little pieces and used it as an ingredient. I'm hoping the eggs taste good with it." She pointed to the golden yellow egg on top. Upon closer inspection, the little seasoning flakes weren't salt and pepper but tiny little pieces of his salty bread.

"I see..." Ren mumbled with awe as he said a quick thank you for the food and cut into it. It was delicious. Of course it was. She really could do _anything_.

"There was a lot of bread crumbs from that, so I'll be making some crispy chicken tomorrow. Help me to remember to stop by the store for the chicken thighs tomorrow on our way home?" Ren eagerly nodded his agreement as he took another bite, actually looking happy to be eating the meal. Kyoko smiled lightly as she watched him. It always made her happy to see him enjoy the food she made.

"You finish up your Momiji filming tomorrow, right?" Ren asked before popping yet another bite of egg and steak in his mouth. Kyoko held in her laughter at the sight. He actually resembled Kuu for a second there, eating and chatting with such a happy expression.

"Yeah, and then we both have our first meeting for 'Passed and Present'. I'm a bit anxious." She admitted. Ren hummed and paused his eating to consider something.

"Sounds like you need some exercise to help you ease up." He suggested with an emperor smirk and a piercing gaze in her direction. Kyoko blushed as she swallowed her own bite.

"Oh? And if I feel like resisting your charms tonight?" She asked. Ren looked back at her, searching for a moment before a smirk pulled at her own lips. He chuckled deeply as he set down his utensils and leaned closer to her, reaching out to gently cradle her jaw.

"I guess I'll just have to tie you up and make you beg." He teased, his voice low and sending delightful shivers down her spine.

"You think you can make me beg?" She teased back somewhat weakly, the man gently urging her closer just with pulling his hand back slowly. Soon, she found herself in his lap, straddling him as he leaned in slowly, his lips ghosting past hers as he leaned close to her ear.

"I'll make you scream." He purred, pleased as she gasped and clutched at his shirt. It took every ounce of will he had to push them back into finishing their meal and cleaning up.

Kyoko seemed to enjoy teasing him through the shower, slowly running the soap over her body as she relished in the feel of his eyes raking over her exquisite form. She wiggled her butt at him tauntingly, smirking back at him when he could no longer stand it and grabbed her hips, pulling her back so he could grind against her a couple times.

"Oh, is someone eager?" She hummed. Ren let out a predatory growl as he gently grazed his nails up her sides, watching the girl shiver and gasp as she leaned back into him fully.

"I'm not the only one." He observed. Kyoko hummed and slipped out, wrapping a towel around her body as she glanced back at her boyfriend.

She was dressed in only her panties, just about to pull her pajamas out when she felt Ren's arms wrap around her and lift her up. She gasped in surprise, and then she was deposited on the bed, his larger form towering over her as he quickly shifted to pin her by the wrists. Kyoko gazed up at him with shock and excitement, pleased to see the towel wrapped around his lower half. She chewed her lip as she contemplated the best way to undo it and expose him fully to her.

"You've had your fun, now it's my turn." Ren growled with a smirk as he pinned both her wrists with one hand. Kyoko chewed her lip lightly as she tested her strength against his, not surprised to find that she was no match. She considered using their little safe word just to see if he really would stop, just to mess with him a bit, but she worried that it would halt the moment completely. She would just have to trust him she supposed, which was both frightening and exhilarating.

Kyoko moaned as she felt his mouth on her, trailing kisses and suckling softly on the softer parts of her flesh, his hand releasing her wrists as it slowly slid down her arms and trailed softly over her body. She groaned and shivered as she felt his warm palms heating her body.

"You aren't going to tie me?" She asked, a bit worried when Ren paused his trail of kisses, face hovering against her left hip. He glanced up at her quietly for a moment before rising up, placing a hand on either side of her against th bed so he could hover over her comfortably.

"Is that a request?" He asked, raking his eyes down her body in appreciation. Kyoko fidgeted in embarrassment. She never got used to the way he looked at her in these moments.

"Well, I've tied you up a couple times now, and you did promise me during dinner. You can't really blame me for getting curious." She explained. Ren hummed and brushed his fingertips up her side in a feathery touch.

"I think I can arrange that." He stated before opening her bedside drawer and pulling out the silk rope he knew she kept there from the last time she tied him to the bed. "Shall I play a part for you, dearest? Maybe another character to fuel those naughty dreams of yours?" He proposed. Kyoko blushed as she considered that, quickly searching for a way to get back at him for that little jab.

"Senpai will be careful with me, right? I'm so inexperienced with these things." She says timidly, fluttering her eyelashes a couple times. Ren let out a low groan as he pinned her wrists together again and quickly tied them together with the rope. Kyoko stared at the knot with shock. He did that fast. Ren chuckled at her obvious surprise.

"I may have done some studying in case you ever were up for this. Your naughty dreams were quite inspiring." He admitted teasingly, tying the rope to her headboard so she couldn't wiggle away. Kyoko made it easy by holding still as he worked, feeling exposed as she lay openly before him with her only covering being the tiny pair of panties hiding her private area.

She squirmed and looked away as Ren sat back to take her all in, observing every little inch of her before he reached out and repeated the process with his hands. The young woman hummed and squirmed under his touch, tugging her arms as she longed to reach out and cling to him.

"Kuon!" She gasped as he glided feathery touches over her breasts and sides. A low moan stretched from her lips as he slid his hand under her to feel at her hips and butt.

"I thought I was 'senpai' for this scene, Kyoko-chan. You aren't breaking character, are you?" He teased. She blushed as she shook her head shyly.

"No, of course not. I'm sorry senpai. Please forgive me."

"Oh, I suppose I could forgive you, but you'll have to beg a bit more I think. If you really want my forgiveness that is." Kyoko moaned as he smoothed his palm over her belly and slowly slid his hand up to start rolling her breast, followed by him narrowing his interest down to the little hardened nipples standing erect, begging for attention. He pinched and rolled the buds, listening intently to all of Kyoko's mewls and moans of pleasure.

"Please, senpai! Please forgive me! Ah!" She gasped and shivered as he blew on her nipple, the sensation odd yet pleasurable somehow. There was a strange relief as his warm mouth took in the bud, moans tumbling from her lips as he sucked and rolled it between his tongue and teeth carefully. "Senpai! Senpai please! More!" She tugged on her restraints as she arched up into him, more moans and pleas pouring from her as he touched and kissed her body all over. He was so warm, so hot and sturdy as he explored every part of her, hooking his fingers into her panties before slowly sliding them down off her legs. She could feel the cold air of the night chill the dampness between her legs, making her self conscious until she felt his tongue lapping up the juices. It thrilled her to know he enjoyed the taste of her so much, but it still wasn't enough.

"Senpai please! More! Please give me more!" Ren groaned and sucked on her clit as he tried to remind himself that he couldn't lose himself. Her birthday was only a few more weeks away. He could make it until then to figure out where they would go from there. He needed to. He could barely stand thinking of how much he was already touching her despite everything. He couldn't ignore her pleas, however. He needed to satisfy her every craving and desire.

"Kyoko-chan, you have a toy, don't you?" He asked her as he raised his head to gaze into her eyes. Kyoko shivered with delight at that look. The emperor was between her legs, her excitement on his lips and chin as he asked about... she blushed as she realized what he may be thinking.

"It... it's in the drawer." She says, glancing to the bedside table he had gotten the rope from. Curious, Ren opened it and reached in the back corners, smirking as he found it and switched it on. Kyoko's body twitched instinctively as the buzzing sound filled the room. Positioning himself between her legs for easy access, he brought the little bullet down to her damp entrance, pulling back when she flinched and looked less than pleased.

"Sorry, too forceful?" he asked uncertainly. She nodded and he shifted his attention back to the task at hand. Gently, he glided a thumb along the puffy lips of her pussy, the slick flesh twitching in response and bringing a smile to his lips. "You're so beautiful, Kyoko, every little part of you leaves me helpless." he states as he dipped a finger in to coat it in her excitement, then slid it out slowly and rubbed tiny circles around her clit. Kyoko cried out as she twitched and squirmed, her body focusing so much on the pleasure his fingers were gracing her.

"It looks so strange to me, though." she whimpered out, to which Ren responded with a shake of his head.

"No, it's beautiful." he pressed his pointer and middle finger to either side of her clit, exposing it even further before he pressed the tip of the vibrator to the sensitive piece. Kyoko arched as a loud moan ripped from her throat.

"R-Ren!" she called out. He smirked and pressed it a little more firmly to the bundle of nerves, rolling it around slowly.

"Ah-ah, Kyoko-chan. Is that any way to speak to your senpai?"

"No, s-sorry." she gasped out as a particularly violent twitch coursed through her. "I'm sorry, senpai! Ah!" she tugged at her restraints fruitlessly as she thrashed about, the man mercilessly rolling and pressing her toy to her sensitive clit. "Senpai! Senpai please! I can't take it!" she moaned and twitched about as the familiar feeling of an orgasm zipped through her body, sending her moaning and twitching as he refused to let up, pushing the limits of her pleasure. He loved doing this kind of thing to her, exhausting her completely with the ecstasy of it all. "T-Tsuruga-senpai," she moaned out, peeking up at him with pleading eyes, "Senpai, please. Won't you let me feel you?" she whimpered, her legs still twitching on either side of him. Ren took a few seconds to take in his sexy girlfriend, laid out before him and begging for him through the aftershocks of her orgasm. He couldn't refuse.

Kyoko watched, chewing her lips as Ren undid his towel and let it fall, exposing the impressive piece as it curved upward strongly before her. At the tip, she could see a little bead of moisture dripping from the small opening. That sense of fear and excitement coursed through her again as he lowered himself down to press his body carefully against hers. Kyoko squirmed beneath him, enjoying the feel of his firm body and hard length pressed so intimately against her skin.

"I'm going to lift your legs, okay? Tell me if it hurts." Ren told her as one large hand slid down her side, past her hip and guided her leg up slowly. She tried to keep it straight for him, but he simply chuckled as he noticed. "You don't have to keep it straight like that. Bend your knee if you have to. I just want to get them up." he explained. It turned out that she was fairly flexible, though she gave a bit of the credit for that to her ninja training. She could pull her knees to her chest while they were bent, and pretty far up while they were straight. She felt proud of herself as Ren looked at her in wonder.

"You're doing everything you can to tempt me, aren't you?" he asked, gliding his hand over her thigh slowly.

"This is tempting?"

"Ha! Very much so!" he exclaimed, pulling her leg up and kissing her calf with a slight smirk. "The more flexible the woman, the more positions you can try." the emperor purred. Kyoko looked away as she blushed, wondering just how many positions there were. She could only think of two, front and back, was there more than that?

"Well..., I'm willing when you are." she pressed softly. Ren hummed and guided her leg back closer to her body as he shifted his hips, his length gliding against her moist entrance and drawing out a sharp gasp from the girl.

"You know full well why I'm choosing to wait, Kyoko-chan. Your senpai is looking out for you. You should be happy."

"I... I am!" she insisted breathlessly. She wanted it to slip in so bad. Would it feel like his fingers when he pleasured her? His tongue? Better? She wanted to know. She wanted to do all kinds of things with him. It was both thrilling and frustrating to know she could rely on him to wait and not take advantage of her persistent desires. She knew they were better off not rushing into such things, but it was oh so tempting. "Senpai, please! Faster!" Ren grunted and sped up his grinds, rolling his hips around and loving the feel of her slick juices coating him with every thrust.

"Kyoko-chan. Kyoko, I'm close." he warned, panting as he gripped her thighs and pressed harder. He could only imagine how good it would feel to be inside, her soft heat clenching around him as she writhed and moaned under his hands and body.

"Tsuruga-senpai!" she gasped and arched as it became more slick from her orgasm, and then warm cum was shooting out onto her stomach, dripping along her sides as her boyfriend panted above her, shaking slightly as he came down from his release.

"Give... give me a moment. I'll clean you up and untie you." he panted out, smiling softly down at Kyoko as she blushed and nodded her understanding.

Being cleaned up by her respected senior was strange yet soothing, the man gently running a cloth soaked in hot water over her tummy and sides to clean up all the cum. When he finally untied her wrists, he brought each of them to his lips to lay soft kisses upon them, once again causing a heat to pulse through her. She didn't feel the same desire for sex, but it was still pleasurable and warm when he did these things afterward.

"I can hardly wait until we can actually do those things." She admitted with a sigh as she curled up into his side and chest. Ren hummed and lightly grazed his fingertips up and down her back. She was so soft. He loved feeling her skin as she snuggled up to him.

"I'm sorry I can't take you from behind as you suck off my other self." He teased, chuckling as she smacked his chest in reprimand.

"Don't make me regret telling you about that." She scolded. Ren chuckled and pulled her tighter against him as he kissed the top of her head.

"Don't be like that. It was a pleasant little surprise. Besides, I told you all about _my_ dreams." He reminded her. Kyoko blushed as she idly drew shapes on his chest.

"It's still embarrassing." She mumbled even as she recalled his dreams he admitted to. There had been so many, too. He dreamed of her as herself mostly, but Setsuka and Natsu had made an appearance in a few of them. Sometimes she was dominating him, usually he was pounding into her as she pleaded and moaned for him. She lifted her leg over him, pleased to feel his length firm and ready again. "Are you thinking about it?" She teased. Ren huffed lightly as his arm under her shifted to allow him to feel on her butt.

"You make it so difficult not to. You drive me crazy, you know that?"

"Mmm, well you drive me crazy too, handsome. Crazy is fun with you, though." Ren hummed in agreement before kissing her again in the dark. Life felt so perfect when she was in his arms.

.

.

* * *

.

"I can't believe Yukihito's still meddling like this." Ren said as he held the lunch box Kyoko prepared for him while she zipped around her apartment to ensure all lights and appliances were off as well as that they had everything they would need for the day.

"You're just upset that he tattled on you. Where did I put my-" she paused as Ren held up her coat, amusement in his eyes as she pouted and walked over to him.

"And you are freaking out over your new job. Why are you so worked up? You'll do great." he insists. Kyoko heaved a heavy sigh as she allowed him to assist her in putting on her coat.

"I don't know. I guess I'm just anxious. I'll be working with you again, and I want to ensure I leave a good impression, that I make you proud." she explained. Ren smiled and stopped her before she could walk out, gently guiding her into a kiss before he smiled and pet her cheek.

"I'm always proud of you. Now come on, we can't leave our overly nosy manager waiting for too long." Ren chuckled.

"Oh, _Oh_!" The two celebrities turned as they heard the voice of someone recognizing them, turning to nervously look to the side. The next door neighbor was just leaving their own place as well, eyes wide as the young woman glanced between them. "Goodness, so it's _that_ Ren." she slowly lifted a hand to hide a growing grin. Ren glanced down at her attire, finding it be somewhat elegant yet certainly trying to draw the eye to her womanly assets. She either had some event she was attending, or she worked at a job that catered to wealthy men, requiring a more spruced up appearance.

"Good morning!" Kyoko bowed deeply and the young woman gave a short and courteous bow in response.

"Good morning to you as well, neighbors. You are most definitely Tsuruga Ren, so you must be..., Kyoko-chan?" she guessed. The two looked to each other nervously. "Oh, don't worry about me. Gossip is always good, but I won't cause any trouble. As far as my clients know, you're some unnamed neighbor who has a _very_ good night life." she stated with a wink. Kyoko went red instantly, lowering her gaze in embarrassment as she realized what the woman was talking about. Were they perhaps too loud?

"I'm..., sorry for any disturbance I may have caused." Kyoko apologized timidly, only for the woman to wave it off.

"Don't mind it. I've grown used to that kind of thing a while ago. I've mostly just been curious who the apparently very skilled 'Ren'-san was ever since we moved in here. It's good to enjoy your youth while having someone you can dedicate yourself to." she states before pausing and frowning, glancing Ren over thoughtfully. An uneasy feeling settled in Kyoko's gut as she saw the cogs rolling in the woman's head.

"Could you... that is... Please don't tell anyone about this." Kyoko asked, peeking up at her neighbor timidly. The woman looked at Kyoko curiously before a soft smile pulled at her lips and she nodded with understanding.

"Of course." she then gave a slightly deeper bow. "My name is Hasegawa Kaomi. It's a pleasure to meet you, Kyoko-chan."

"Hasegawa?" Kyoko echoed, gaining a nod from the woman.

"My little sister is in the same section as you at LME. Thank you for taking care of her. I would tell you to come by if you need anything, but I'm not always home, and Akia is a bit..."

"Prickly?" Kyoko supplied, gaining a laugh from Kaomi.

"Indeed. She's my little hedgehog. She's cute once you figure out how to handle her, but it's certainly not a common skill set." she admits. Ren's phone pinged and he glanced at it before showing it to Kyoko, causing the girl to quickly bow to her newfound neighbor.

"I'm so sorry, but we really need to be going. We... We'll make more of an effort to keep it down from now on." she promised quickly, her face burning with embarrassment just from recalling all the things this woman must have heard. Kaomi only smiled and said farewell as she locked up her own place while Kyoko and Ren slipped out to Yashiro's waiting car.

"Kyoko-chan, you're so red! Are you okay? You're not sick, are you?" Yashiro asked worriedly. Ren looked out the window, amused at the situation yet worried about the neighbor finding out about them, even with her having ties to LME through her sister. How to explain this threat to his manager without exposing what all the woman may have heard through the walls...

.

* * *

.

The introductory meeting for 'Passed and Present' went well. Ren was playing as a young detective that just moved into the apartment Kyoko's ghost character resided in. The ghost was obviously displeased with the presence of a new resident so soon after she had driven off two others. The other actors seemed pleased with her script reading, complimenting the emotion in her voice as she yelled at the detective to get out of her sanctuary. Kyoko was suspicious of the tiny smirk he gave when she delivered that line. After dating him for the past months, she was now well aware that he could find perverted innuendos with a lot of seemingly innocent things. Most people didn't notice because they saw nothing strange about Tsuruga Ren smiling. Kyoko knew better.

"Do I even want to know what you found so amusing about my lines back there?" Kyoko asked as Yashiro drove them to the convenience store for their requested chicken thighs for tonight's dinner. Ren grinned as he looked away.

"Oh nothing, I just thought it was funny."

"Oh really? Do tell." Kyoko ground out, squinting at him suspiciously.

"Well..., I could have sworn you wanted me _in_ your sanctuary, not driving me out." he giggled like a child.

"Ren! Is that really appropriate?" Yashiro scolded from the front. Kyoko only looked confused as Ren started cackling next to her.

"She doesn't get it." Ren stated as if that was excuse enough to make dirty innuendos.

"Explain." Kyoko demanded with a firm pout. Ren hummed thoughtfully on that.

"You know..., I think this is a subject for Kotonimi-san. She's the one that you go to for knowledge on women's bodies, right?" he asked smugly. Kyoko accepted that hesitantly, not noticing the smug look on her boyfriend's face. Yashiro sighed as he shook his head. He wasn't sure if he wanted to know what that was all about.

.

Ren frowned as he looked over the list of people Kyoko was planning on inviting to her Grateful Party this year. He had offered his help in getting the invitations organized and the addresses found for each person that he could while she prepared dinner; the promised crispy chicken to clean up the last of his mess with the salt-bread.

"I can somewhat see why you want to invite your mother, coming to terms with things and wanting to thank her for your birth and all that..., but do you really need to invite that guy?" he asked unhappily, pointing to Sho's name on the list. He didn't like it. He didn't want her inviting that guy around. The annoying pest had been refreshingly silent since their little kiss, but now she wanted to encourage his presence? Why? What did he go through that horrifying experience for?

"Calm down, Kuon. Even if he's a prick and caused me a lot of trouble, I'm still thankful that his selfishness has allowed me to find such a happy life with you by my side." Kyoko explained as she peaked out of the kitchen to him. "I doubt he'll come anyway, and if he does, I'll just have you pester him, maybe ask him for a dance." she snickered at the thought. Kuon looked significantly less amused.

"Maybe I should pay him a visit soon." he grumbled as he popped his knuckles threateningly. Kyoko frowned over at him, sighing as she shook her head and walked over to stand before him. His dark expression instantly cleared as he gazed up at her, all too willing to comply as she bent down for a slow and soft kiss.

"Are you calm yet?" she asked as she pulled away slightly. Ren hummed thoughtfully at that.

"Maybe I need a few more of those." he pondered. Kyoko giggled and hugged his neck, slipping to straddle him as she kissed him a bit more deeply. She squeaked as he pulled her down on him a bit more firmly, letting her feel his rising desire with a smirk and a predatory gaze.. He smirked up at her and she pouted before gripping his shirt and pressing her body into his, sliding her lips into their proper place against his. _'I need to get things in order quickly.'_ He thinks as his hands twitched on her hips. He really wasn't sure how much longer he could hold himself back.

.

.

* * *

.

Kuon's leg bounced nervously as he sat in the cafe, nursing a now slightly cold black coffee, feeling a bit exposed to be sitting around in public while donning his natural appearance. Outside, there was a decently strong wind, chilling the already cold winter air as people hustled by, bundled up deep in thick coats and scarves. The clacking of a pair of heals and a set of dress shoes approached him, causing the blond to look over and up at the two people that stood beside his table. He recognized the woman and Kyoko's mother, but he couldn't say he knew the man at all. Slowly, he stood and gave a respectful bow.

"Thank you for meeting me, Miss Mogami. My name is Hizuri Kuon." he introduced carefully. The three of them quickly said their greetings before settling in at the table.

"I'm going to guess this has something to do with Kyoko." she stated. Kuon thinned his lips quietly for a moment as he noted she called Kyoko's name instead of calling the girl her daughter.

"Indeed it is."

"You're the man she was seen with in public?"

"I am."

"And what purpose do you have for requesting I come meet with you?" she asked simply, looking him over for a quick assessment. He seemed like a well-off young man, and the name Hizuri was familiar, though she wouldn't make assumptions. He could also be lying about his name. Kyoko had seen his documents, but that didn't mean he would offer up the accurate information to the mother, especially if he knew anything about their relationship.

"I intend to propose to Kyoko." he stated somewhat firmly, his gaze unwavering. Saena crinkled her brow at him and he explained quickly. "I know you and your daughter do not have a very good relationship. I know you care very little about where she is and how she is doing, so long as she doesn't bring any shame to your name. I also know that she still very much cares about your opinion of her, and that she feels gratitude and respect for you as a child and parent. I'm here to respect that, to tell you of my intentions, and to ask for your blessing."

"And if I refuse?" she challenged. Kuon nodded simply.

"If you refuse, then I will still propose, and I will marry her so long as she will have me."

"She's still a minor, you know. I'm aware that you foreigners are considered adults when you're younger. You're American, right? So..., eighteen? That isn't how things work here in Japan. She'll need my seal of approval if she wants to get married before she comes of age."

"I can propose to her before then. She'll be a legal adult in two more years, and weddings can take a lot of planning. One or two years engagement isn't all that uncommon." he countered. Saena leaned back in her seat, a thoughtful expression on her face.

"I see you've looked into it quite a bit, I'll give you that. I was under the impression, however, that you two were not an item. She stated in her interview that she was focusing on her work and not looking for a relationship. Kuon gave a sad smile in response.

"Yes, I'll admit that it has mostly been me pursuing her out of my own interest, but I know she is not against being with me. We have not been able to be together as we would like out of obligation and distance, but I think this will be a great way to close that distance. I love her, and I will do whatever it takes to have a happy life with her. I like to think I've grown into someone capable enough to stand on my own no matter where I find myself."

"It sounds reckless to me." she said slowly.

"If she were to marry me, she could take my name as well. You won't have to worry any more about people making ties between you two." he urged. Saena scoffed and crossed her arms as she leaned back in her chair.

"You make it sound like she would sever all connections with me, yet I know for a fact that child has no intention of such. She even sent me an invitation to that ridiculous sounding party of hers." She didn't seem very pleased with the invitation. Kuon hadn't pried into the story behind Kyoko's mother, but it wasn't difficult to discern that the woman probably didn't see that day as a cause of celebration. With how poorly she treated Kyoko in the past, he would even suspect she cursed the day as much as Kyoko did valentines in the past.

"I understand what you mean, but the fact remains that a change of last name will be one less similarity that people could tie between you two. Even if you deny us your blessing, she will continue to strive for your approval, and it's unlikely she would stop contact with you completely. It's going to draw a lot more attention for a Mogami Kyoko to try and get in touch with a Mogami Saena than if it were a Hizuri Kyoko." he explained. The woman's brown seemed to scrunch just a tad more as she stared at him before it loosened and she gave a quiet nod.

"Very well. I give you my blessing. Don't expect me to attend that gathering of hers, though."

"Understood. Thank you very much." Kuon said before they parted ways. He sighed as he felt a heavy weight fall from his shoulders with her departure. He did it. It hadn't been necessary -as he had been honest with his plans wither she accepted or not- but he knew how much her mother's approval meant to Kyoko. Pulling up his phone, he messaged Jelly Woods that he was done with his task. It didn't take her long to summon him into her beauty parlor and quickly get started on fixing him back into his Ren Persona. With his mind at ease and nothing but his thoughts to distract him from the hands dying his hair back, he found himself going over the conversation in his head a couple times. He liked to think he handled it pretty well. He was calm and collected for the most part, and then he realized he had used the skills he developed for Ren while appearing as Kuon. _'It's like they... I... both sides of me are bleeding into the other.'_ he thinks idly, staring at the ceiling as the beautician worked. He crossed his arms as he contemplated this discovery. Was this a good thing? He didn't feel violent or on edge like he did as Kuon, but he certainly didn't feel as care free and emotionless as Ren. _'Maybe this is what Boss meant back then...'_ he thought curiously.

"There we go, you're all set. Don't forget to use the shampoo and conditioner I gave you. Use the leave-in conditioner every night." Jelly reminds him as she starts to vlean up. Ren held in his laughter at how much concern she had for his hair, but ultimately decided not to push his luck. It seemed like Kyoko really liked his hair after all, so he preferred to keep it for her sake. Slipping into his car, he sent a short text to Yashiro and Lory letting them know how his meeting with Kyoko's mother went, then put it away and headed out toward the studio for filming.

* * *

Kyoko startled as her manager let out a squeal, the crew collectively turning to see what had just happened. Yashiro, apparently happy about something on his phone, gasped and covered his mouth quickly as he tucked the device away.

"You would think that Tsuruga Ren's legendary manager would know better than to be so noisy around the set." Kyoko's makeup artist commented whist fixing the pale makeup between scenes.

"He's never done that before. I wonder what got him so excited that he couldn't control himself for once." Kyoko pondered. She'd only ever heard the grown man make sounds like that when it had to do with her and Ren. Maybe he was excited about her birthday present? Was it something romantic? A thousand ideas started flitting through her mind as to what kind of message Yashiro could have gotten in relation to her and Ren. It had to be something big for Yashiro to actually be unable to control himself.

"Well, let's just be glad it happened between scenes instead of while we were filming." the woman stated, getting a nod of agreement from Kyoko. Soon, she was called onto the set and action was called.

 _She had quite a bit of fun, messing up the staged apartment like a over-energized toddler left to their own devices._

 _"He won't move out? Ha! Maybe after THIS!" she cackled as she tossed his bed out the window and scraped her nails roughly against the walls, kicking papers and jamming his desk chair in an awkward angle so it got stuck in his closet pretty bad. The crew watched with awe at all the creative ways the ghost destroyed Detective Yamamato's still fairly new apartment._

All of the cast and crew agreed that they wouldn't be willing to stay anywhere with such a spirit lingering, which would only play up the detective's perseverance and determination.

"Cut! Okay! You did a great job, Kyoko-chan. Let's break for lunch, and then we'll start again with Ghost Eiko* sitting in the aftermath of her destruction."

* * *

 _*I often look up traditional Japanese names for my characters and such in this. I chose Eiko for the ghost character's name for the irony. According to google, Eiko means long-lived child. Get it? Hahaha, ahhhhh._

 _For anyone interested in seeing my art, btw, I have posted some of my more acceptable sketched on Twitter. The7Strange was apparently taken by some other person already, which i'm admittedly a little salty about due to using it on other sights for so long, but I got my second choice "ofDragonsNLore". Look for the name Addicted Sleeper. You'll also see my same avatar picture. It's nothing super great, and I just kinda throw stuff in there every now and then, but I thought I would let you all know just in case you were interested._

 _Author Responses_

 _Kaname671- I'm going to consider it a compliment that I can effect my readers in so many ways. Don't worry about Ren putting his mask on again in this fic. It was just a little hint that he's growing and letting himself be who he really is without completely self-destructing all over again like when he was a teen. To answer your side note: I know it was a while ago, but he did tell Kyoko everything in this fic. Specifically, he told her everything about rick on their date night, after the horseback riding and before the dinner and dance that got them caught on camera and posted in the press. Kyoko mentioned the nightmares before he went on the trip, and i haven't mentioned it specifically, but the nightmares have lessened ever since he confessed his past to Kyoko, likely because he had been worried before that she would leave him once she learned the truth. He still has nightmares of course, as that kind of trauma doesn't just go away, but they're much less, and there's less fear of her up and leaving him due to his past. I'm not going to comment on the Ren orgy. It's cringy to me personally, but to each their own.  
I don't see Kyoko being afraid of Ren/Kuon's strength, mostly because she's been so capable in the past of either manipulating him into doing what she wants, or taking him so off guard that she gains the upper hand without too much trouble. Sho, on the other hand, has held her against her will and taken advantage of her unsteady state a couple times, both in the manga and in this fanfiction. She's afraid of Sho's lack of restraint, while she takes comfort in the fact she knows Ren would rather cut off his own hand rather than hurt her. Also, having someone tied up and at your mercy can really boost your confidence when dealing with that person. *shrug*  
_

 _Thanks to all who commented on the last chapters. I'm always happy to see people enjoying my writing, and I hope this one was just as pleasurable to you all. ;)_

 _see you next chapter!_


	16. Chapter 16

_Wake me with coffee and intimacy, and even Death himself couldn't keep me down.I'm not sure if people prefer author notes with long explanations of where they've been and why they've neglected a story and whatnot, but I'm going to chose to spare you._

 _I_ have _been writing on my phone using the app, but I've come to notice after publishing a few chapters on here in the past that the app really doesn't like to cooperate. My line breakers get deleted, along with some of my symbols, spacing gets messed up, and words get changed to other words. I went back through on my computer, but I'm apologizing now in case I missed anything._

 _As always, I don't own Skip Beat or it's characters. I only claim ownership of my writing ability and the various original characters I have created and inserted for story progression._

 _Kyoko's 18th birthday is approaching fast, and Kuon is starting to feel restless. Respecting Kyoko's desire to please her mother, he met with Saena to get her blessing to marry Kyoko. Everything was going well for his plan until Yashiro became so excited that he let out a squeal at Kyoko's job. She's now suspicious of what her boyfriend might be up to. Hopefully She'll be too distracted with planning her Happy Grateful Party while he's organizing his proposal. There's also problems with a neighbor apparently hearing Kyoko and Kuon's 'nightly activities' next door at Kyoko's apartment, Hasegawa Aika's older sister at that! Will she keep her word and not tell anyone, or are Kyoko and Ren in danger of their relationship being exposed to the press? Ren is worried. Kyoko is embarrassed._

 _Enjoy_

* * *

"Tsuruga-san, you're here earlier than expected." Kyoko looked over to see her secret boyfriend casually greeting some of the cast and crew of 'Passed and Present'. She hummed lightly as she looked to Yashiro, the man still in a somewhat giddy mood after his involuntary squeal earlier.

"Yashiro-san, you'll make sure he doesn't skip lunch right?" She asked before taking a bite of her own lunch. The manager nodded quickly and she watched him bolt over to Ren eagerly. Something was definitely up, she decided. Ren nodded with an amused smile to his manager before they headed over to her and Yashiro scampered off, quickly returning with a lunch for Ren.

"How was your meeting, Tsuruga-san?" Kyoko asked as she watched him carefully. It seemed like it took an awfully long time. Meetings with the president didn't usually take up several hours, even with more serious topics. It was yet another anomaly about the day and the two mens' behaviors. Ren slowly looked up at her as he opened his lunch and grabbed the chopsticks.

"It went well, nothing I can't handle, I assure you." He states. Kyoko narrowed her eyes at him and he glanced to Yashiro. The manager hastily shoved a bite of food in his mouth.

"It must have been pretty good to make Yashiro-san release one of his squeals between takes." Kyoko pressed. Ren looked unimpressed as he gazed at the manager, his eyes seeming to bare into the older man. Yashiro shivered nervously under his gaze.

"Is that right? I wonder what could have caused such unprofessional behavior, Yukihito." Ren drawled out slowly. Yashiro cowered before him, even more afraid of upsetting Ren ever since the Sho incident. Who knew that Ren was capable of using a kiss as a weapon? Yashiro didn't even want to think about it.

"I was excited, I'm sorry!" He whined, still refusing to look back at his older charge. Kyoko quietly watched them as she ate. They still weren't giving away anything. The only thing this conversation was accomplishing was confirming her suspicions that it was something to do with Ren. He was quite angry at Yashiro for acting out as he did, which backed up her suspicions that it also had something to do with her.

"You aren't going to tell me?" Kyoko pressed. Yashiro looked horrified while Ren just looked amused. Strange.

"Nope. I can see the wheels turning in your head, so you can stop now. It's a surprise, so you'll just have to wait." Ren stated while Yashiro looked like he might die on the spot. The manager hadn't expected Ren to admit that there was anything connected to her. Kyoko pouted as she munched on her food some more. Just the fact that he stated it was a surprise for her cut her short. If she asked further questions, it would seem like she was disregarding him and didn't care for the effort he put in to surprise her. She almost wished he would have tried to hide it. At least then she would have grounds of suspicion to investigate.

Ren watched his secret girlfriend grumpily eat her lunch. It was clear that she felt a bit defeated. She was so cute with all her expressions so clearly on her face. "Hey," he called softly, prompting her to flick her gaze back up at him so he could smile in reassurance, "it'll be worth it. Just trust me." She smiled and rolled her eyes. She wished she could cuddle up to him right then, but the fact they were in public and far from ready to release their relationship to said public held her back thoroughly. An idea struck her and Ren watched curiously as she leaned in close.

"Of course I trust you..., Ren." She spoke softly, her eyes flicking down his form for a second as the food dropped from his chopsticks and into the box a bit messily. She giggled as she sat back in her seat and continued eating, watching the man try and compose himself and get back to eating the lunch provided to him. Yashiro sat by, utterly confused as he watched Ren turn so timid just from a short sentence from the little slip of a girl. _'Kyoko-chan, you really have some kind of super power.'_ Yashiro thinks with a shake of his head.

When lunch finally wrapped up, the director was pleased to find Ren already among the crew, nodding happily as he stated that would allow them to smoothly transition into the next couple scenes. The actor was a bit confused when he was handed a sleeping mat, growing startled when his attention was directed to the set. It was a disaster! His eyes shifted suspiciously over to Kyoko as the girl got her makeup fixed.

"I get the feeling you would be even more frightening as an actual ghost." Ren stated wearily.

"I tried my hardest, you know." Kyoko pouted back at him.

"I can see that. Apparently I have to walk in with a bed that was flung out the window." He stated, holding up the futon mat. Kyoko only responded with a cheeky grin before she was sent onto the set.

* * *

Kanae leaned against the counter as Kyoko cooked, listening to the girl ramble away about how strange Ren had been acting lately.

"I don't know, Kyoko. What do you want me to say?"

"I don't know!" Kyoko whined as she shut the oven door. "I can't pry into it more because that would be rude when I know it's a surprise for me, but I'm so _curious_!" She groaned in distress.

"Well, do you want to figure it out or not?"

"I. Don't. Know! That's half the problem! I want to know because I'm so curious, but then I don't want to know because I don't want to be rude to Kuon!"

"Well you should sort that out first. You can't do anything if you don't know what it is that you _want_ to do." Kanae reasoned. Kyoko heaved another sigh as she nodded along, not hearing the front door and Ren shedding his coat and shoes.

"My birthday is coming up, so it's probably something to do with that. Yashiro-san also has only ever acted that way in the past when it had to do with our relationship." Kanae watched with curiosity as Ren silently slipped into the kitchen, a godly smile on his face as he approached the rambling girl. "I can pretty much deduce that it's likely something romantic. That would explain Yashiro-san freaking out. I just can't figure out what would be significant enough to make him break his professional attitude in public." Kanae's eyes widened as those words struck in her mind. Oh, she had a pretty good idea of what that could be. "Maybe there's another magical date he's planning and- oh my god!" Kyoko squealed as she suddenly felt strong arms sneaking around her waist. "Kuon!" She gasped in surprise, the man smiling softly as he rested his chin on her shoulder.

"I thought I was the one playing a detective, Kyoko." He hummed before shifting to place a kiss on her neck. Kyoko hummed and shivered in his arms, pressing her body backward into his before gasping loudly and quickly turning to find Kanae watching with a smug grin on her face. The heat rose in Kyoko's cheeks and she tried to squirm out of Ren's embrace, panicking slightly as she felt a hand trailing down to her hip.

"Kuon, we have company!" She pointed out urgently.

"No no, don't mind me. Please, continue." Kanae's grin widened as the man considered her quietly, his eyes staring out from behind Kyoko as he nibbled on his girlfriend's neck. Kanae ignored the shiver that raced down her spine. These two really looked good together, especially when Ren's hand started to thread up through Kyoko's hair messily.

"K-Kuon," Kyoko groaned out as her eyes fluttered shut, the man's arm around her waist tightening to help hold her up as he kissed and nipped at her sensitive neck. "W-wait no!" She gasped as her eyes snapped open again, her face darkening a couple more shades as she found Kanae watching them still. "Kuon, stop! Moko is watching! Wings! Fairy wings! Wings!" She blubbered out quickly. Ren froze and slowly pulled away, looking down at her with a pout as she turned on him furiously. "You! How could you do that kind of thing in front of someone?" She demanded, punching her fists on his chest.

"But she said-"

"That's no excuse! What an embarrassing thing to be seen! You have no shame!" She fumed.

"We have to do all kinds of personal things in front of the camera all the time." Ren tried to reason. Kyoko's eyes watered as she glared at him.

"That's acting! Is this just an act to you? Is this just another scene?" Ren wilted and looked away shamefully at that.

"No, being with you could never be just an act." He mumbled out with a pitiful expression. Kyoko heaved a frustrated sigh.

"You can't get out of this with that pitiful puppy expression. I-"

"I know. I'm sorry." He apologized, still looking so pitiful. Kanae fidgeted uncomfortably. She felt slightly responsible for encouraging the behavior. She could also have just walked out of the kitchen or even looked away to give them privacy. Instead she had greedily watched the intimate scene.

"Does this mean you two won't ever play opposite in romantic roles?" Kanae asked, feeling oddly disappointed at that. If there were ever two people that would make her want to see such things, it would be these two. Actually, maybe it was best if she didn't get into that. It would probably be like a gateway drug. Next thing she knew, she'd be running around wearing costumes and spouting nonsense on the importance of love.

"That's true I suppose," Ren mused a bit sadly, "I can't play romantically opposite you if I can't touch you in front of others, and I can't touch you without being at least a little serious. Kotonami-san felt alright because she's such a good friend to you, but I wouldn't want to share your cute and erotic faces to others." He crossed his arms and stared at the ground sadly. Kyoko blushed and looked to Kanae for advice, only for the older girl to give a thumbs up and a grin.

"It's a nice look for you." She agreed. Ren only seemed to grow more unhappy as his frown deepened. Kyoko groaned and rolled her eyes before starting to shove the two of them out of the kitchen.

"You two can stop teasing me now. Both you stay out of my way while I finish dinner." She demands, brandishing her spatula at each of them. Ren pouted while Kanae shrugged it off and let Kyoko slip back into the kitchen. She gave a couple moments before she glanced at Ren with her smug grin. Ren rose his eyebrows at the girl in kind.

"I never took you for a voyeur, Miss Kotonami." Kanae hummed as she considered that.

"It's become a bit of a habit to watch people, though I don't usually care for the more intimate things usually. I just collect data for my own acting."

"I see. Did this help you, then?" He asked, raising his eyebrows curiously at her. Kanae let out a laugh through her nose.

"No way. You two are just good together." She waved off, rolling her eyes when he looked pleased at that. " Anyway, I know what you're up to." She stated, not one to beat around the bush. The man looked startled then confused. "It was fairly easy to figure out when Kyoko said Yashiro couldn't help his squeal in public and how odd it was. It also helps that the reason had to be something she would have no way of considering." She reasoned. Ren heaved a somewhat exasperated sigh.

"Of course you figured it out. I'm just glad Kyoko isn't the type to get these things... Please don't tell her?" Kanae sputtered and scoffed before shaking her head.

"Of course not, idiot. I want in." Ren blinked at her with surprise, taking a moment to register.

"In?"

"Yes, in!" She repeated, crossing her arms as she stood before him firmly. The man hummed thoughtfully as he observed her for a moment.

"It seems a bit suspicious..." he starts slowly. Kanae huffed and rolled her eyes in annoyance.

"Look, I only want to do this for Kyoko. As psychotic as she is, she's still my best friend. What better way to guarantee success rather than to enlist the best friend to the girl you're trying to catch? I helped you two get together in the first place, didn't I?" She reminded him. Ren nodded thoughtfully to show he was listening and taking her arguments into consideration.

"I see..., for Kyoko?"

"For Kyoko."

"What's for me?" The two looked over to where the very girl in question stood in the archway connecting the main room and the kitchen. She pouted as Kanae and Ren looked to each other quietly. "Not you too, Moko-san!" Kyoko whined, pulling off her oven mits and stomping back into the kitchen. "Firsts my boyfriend is keeping secrets with my manager, and now my best friend. What's next? My mother?" She grumbled somewhat loudly in the other room. Kanae looked to Ren curiously, surprised to find him hiding a secret smile behind his hand as he held in visible laughter. That was a surprise. She couldn't even begin to imagine how he pulled off persuading that cold woman to have anything to do with something related to Kyoko. Kanae held out her phone to Ren, getting a curious look from him in response.

"Put in whatever contact information you want for you so we can discuss the plans easier." She explained in a hushed voice even as he took the device and filled in the phone number and email information. Secretly, she set his name as 'Oak' to keep things from being too obvious before saving the information and tucking it away. She would never admit it in any way, but she actually felt a little excited for it all.

It seemed Kyoko was still mad all throughout the night, though she hid it very well. The only reason Ren could tell she was still mad was a persistent distance, her uncaring attitude as she left him to clean up after dinner by himself, a firm rejection to shower together after Kanae left, as well as that she refused any intimate touching when they went to bed. Ren felt lucky that she even allowed him to hold her, the man eagerly cuddling against her back as she held his hand wrapped around her waist.

"Kyoko?" he called softly into the dark. She answered with a short and slightly forceful hum. "You know I love you, right?" He could feel her tense body relax as she heaved a sigh and slowly shifted on her back so she could look over at him through the darkness. He insistently held his arm around her, lifting it ever so slightly so she could easily slide around beneath it without rolling it off. He wouldn't let go of the tiny little allowance she had granted him, not so easily.

"Even if you love me, it's still worrisome when you do things I dislike. I still can't believe you would touch me like that in front of Moko."

"I'm sorry." He spoke softly as he lowered his gaze from her phantom form he could still make out in the dark. He didn't even deserve to gaze at her barely visible face. He felt the delicate brush of her lips against his own and his eyes shot back to hers instantly.

"I know you are. I'm not really mad anymore, but... I felt hurt and humiliated by two of the most important people to me. I don't like that feeling." His hand gently brushed her hair out of her face and tucked it behind her ear.

"We didn't mean to make you feel that way. I could give all kinds of excuses, about how people would blatantly do those kinds of things in public all the time growing up, how I didn't think Kotonami seeing you get a little intimate would bother you..., but that would be disregarding your feelings. I should have stopped when you started to object, regardless of Kotonami-san assuring that she was fine watching." He buried his face in her hair as he tightened his arm around her slightly. Kyoko hummed lightly in thought as she turned to curl more deeply into his chest.

"You stopped when I used the safe word, though." she encouraged softly. She had admittedly doubted it's effectiveness, having never used it up to that point, but it gave her a bit of reassurance now.

"Of course. I would never break that rule. It's a bit embarrassing for someone else to hear it, though."

"Good." Kyoko huffed, glad he had been embarrassed at least a little from all that. "Now come here, my big stupid fairy." with that, she rolled to be straddling on top of him and kissed him passionately.

* * *

Kyoko eyed the happily prancing president wearily as he skipped about the halls of LME.

"I feel uncomfortable." Kanae stated dryly next to her. She nodded her agreement before they slipped away from the flamboyant man, hoping he didn't come looking for them today. Quietly, the older girl worried about how much the man might accidentally give away out of his excitement for Ren -or Kuon she supposed- to be planning a proposal. Not only did the strange president make her feel weary when he was acting like that, but also it seemed dangerous to let him near Kyoko when this current state and energy were most likely about said secret proposal.

"How has your latest drama been going?" Kyoko decided to make idle conversation as they headed to the Love-me room. Kanae gave a soft huff, giving a somewhat noncommittal answer. The two chatted about various things before the door opened and in walked Hasegawa Aika. Love-me one and two stared in shock at the outfit she was wearing, showing a lot of leg with all kinds of dark and edgy accessories adorning her stylishly torn hi-low skirt and fitted top. Kyoko could easily see Setsuka wearing the outfit. Seeing all the chain-linked and dangling earrings on the girl's ears made Kyoko wonder if she hadn't given Setsu enough piercings.

"What is that?" Kanae asked, eyeing the girl's outfit cryptically. Aika marched over to her locker, opening it and starting to undo all the excessive earnings. They were real, too. All those piercings had actual holes! Kyoko could hardly believe it.

"It's the outfit for my PV, of course. Anyway, Kyoko-chan," she called, the girl in question straightening up as she gave her undivided attention, "apparently you're my neighbor at the new place. My sister told me to invite you to come over, so if she ever asks, I've just done so, okay?" she huffs in annoyance. Kanae frowned in disapproval at the girl's tone. Even if she didn't really want to invite Kyoko over, was that any way to voice it? Meanwhile, Kyoko was doing her best to hide her embarrassment. She had nearly forgotten about meeting Aika's older sister in the hallway. It had been obvious that the woman had heard her and Ren's intimate nights of passionate touch at least a couple of times. Maybe they should reserve their more passionate nights for when they were at his place. It was almost guaranteed to be better privacy-wise, and Kyoko truly didn't want to cause problems for her neighbor. She hadn't realized how long it had been since she went over to his place until now. It seemed she had been taking it for granted that he was always so eager to come see her and that she could have him over all the time.

"Um, sure. You can also come over sometime. I cook dinner when I'm home, so let me know if you plan on coming over and I'll make you a plate." Kyoko invited carefully. Aika paused, looking over to Kyoko with a scrunched brow and her hands still fiddling with their current earring.

"You cook?" she asked skeptically.

"Yeah, and she's amazing, so you better appreciate that offer." Kanae cut in with obvious annoyance. Aika rose a single eyebrow curiously, glancing between the two girls for a moment before she pulled her hands away from her ear and placed them on her hips.

"Okay then, I'll come over tonight. My sister too." Kanae fumed but Kyoko simply smiled charmingly.

"We'll have a party, then. I'll be home after 19:00, so you can come over any time after that." she says happily. Aika looked skeptical before returning to undoing all the earrings and makeup with a muttered _'whatever'_. Kyoko looked to Kanae and shrugged in response.

Since they were already having a couple people over, she decided Yashiro and Ren to join them as well as they headed to the 'Passed and Present' shooting for the day. The two men seemed a bit uncertain about it, though Ren didn't voice his concerns, opting to simply remain silent. She texted Chiori to invite her as well, but the girl regretfully declined, saying it was too last-minute.

"Are you sure it's a good idea? She seems to have a strong dislike for men, after all." Yashiro pointed out nervously. The three of them had purposely kept their interactions with the newest love-me member to a minimum. She didn't seem to care for them most of the time, all but ignoring Ren and Yshiro's presence any time they crossed paths, but she had quickly shown a negative attitude toward anything that implied romantic feelings involving men, going back to her rumbles and rants that men were untrustworthy and self-centered by nature. Chiori seemed to find it amusing while Kanae only grew annoyed over time.

"I think it'll be fine. I haven't had a lot of opportunity to interact with her, but I don't think she's a bad person. From what Moko-er... Kanae-chan has told me, Hasegawa-san seems to be dealing with the after effects of a father that abandoned her and her sister when their mother got sick a while back. We don't know the details, but I imagine they must have faced a lot of hardships without a proper provider for their family." Kyoko explained. Yashiro sniffled in the front seat.

"You're so understanding, Kyoko-chan." the manager blubbered emotionally.

"Mm... I don't think I really am, though. Having this kind of insight is an important tool for character creation, right?" Kyoko asks as she turned to Ren for assurance. He smiled and nodded approvingly.

"Even so, understanding a character doesn't mean we agree with their actions or would be willing to interact with them. Even Natsu-san has her reasons you've come to understand, but I don't think that means you should feel inclined to befriend her if she were a real person. Instead of simply understanding, I would call you kind." Ren explained as he pet her hair lovingly. Kyoko smiled brightly as she leaned into his touch, the two of them begrudgingly pulling apart as they reached the studio. Kyoko was quiet as they walked to the set, though she showed no indication that she was upset for any reason. Ren leaned down, seeming to catch her attention easily with the simple movement.

"Something on your mind, Kyoko?" he asked softly, his brown-colored eyes flitting over her face searchingly. Kyoko gave a small smile as she shifted her own gaze to the ground, focusing on her feet as they walked.

"It's nothing. I guess I was just thinking that it would be nice if we could at least hold hands or something." she admitted. Already spotting the movement of his hand, she held her own up in a sign of rejection. "But I can't do that. Even if you're fine with it, Tsuruga-san, I still can't find myself comfortable acting in such a way to my senpai in public." She hastily explained. Ren looked down at his open palm quietly for a moment before tucking it in his pocket as he straightened back to his full height.

"I suppose that means you'll be waiting for Kuon before you show such affection in public." he mused. Kyoko blushed and looked away with a tiny pout. Ren quirked an eyebrow curiously. "I've wondered about this before, but could it be that you are more attracted to Kuon than Ren?" he asked. He felt stupid for being jealous of his own alter ego yet again, but he couldn't seem to rationalize it, no matter how hard he tried.

Kyoko glanced back at him with a mixture of curiosity and confusion before she broke into a giggle. Ren pouted in response.

"Are you more attracted to me when I wear different clothes or dye my hair a different color?" she asked in return. Ren looked up thoughtfully. As actors, they played a lot of different roles. He admired her when she was acting as another character, found her dazzling and inspiring when she was able to put so much passion and emotion into her roles, but would he call it attraction? Maybe in a sense.

"I'm most attracted to you when you are acting as Kyoko. There's a part of that in each thing you do and every role you play, but I love you most when I just get to be with you as yourself." he decided, looking back at her. Kyoko smiled through her darkening blush.

"So the question is, who are you really? Are you Corn? Are you Ren?" she walked so she was just a little closer to him, subtly letting her arm brush against his as she looked up at him lovingly. "Or are you a silly man that can't remember his own name?" She teased. Ren instantly found that stuffing his hands in his pockets was not nearly enough to keep from reaching out for her, opting to cross them firmly across his chest instead. Kyoko visibly took note of the movement, her eyes flicking to his crossed arms and back to his face. "Really? This is what pushes you the most? I'm not even doing anything." She lightly teased. Ren huffed and tightened his arms against his chest.

"You're being yourself, and yourself is adorable. You have no idea how often I've had to remind myself that I can't just reach out and grab you." he retorts. Kyoko hummed lightly in thought at that, the actors pausing outside the door to the set.

"Want to know my secret?" she asked, motioning for him to lean closer with a wiggle of her finger. Ren eyed her thoughtfully at the playfulness in her tone, but ultimately decided that there was nothing she could do to him that he wouldn't accept. As soon as he leaned down far enough for her to whisper, she placed a hand on his opposite shoulder and kissed his cheek, making the man freeze in place with surprise. "My secret is that you love me." she giggled in his ear before prancing through the doors. Ren took a minute to catch his mind up before he straightened and placed a hand over his cheek. He and his adorable girlfriend had shared plenty of kisses and then some in the privacy of their homes, and yet a kiss on the cheek from her in public left the skin tingling with hyper-awareness.

"Will you be able to focus on the scenes, Ren?" Yashiro asked worriedly. The actor's head whipped around at the sound, apparently having forgotten completely that the manager would have witnessed such a thing. His eyes flicked down to the phone in Yashiro's hand, narrowing suspiciously as he considered the possibility that the older man had recorded anything. It seemed fairly likely. He smiled forcefully, making the bespectacled man pull back nervously.

"I think I should be the one telling you to focus, Yukihito." Ren stated with a cold tone. Yashiro squeaked and held the phone firmly to his chest.

"I'm doing my job properly." he defended before running through the doors Kyoko had slipped past. Ren sighed and shook his head as he followed, a small smile exposing his good mood.

* * *

"I still don't think this is a good idea." Kanae stated unhappily from the front seat. Yashiro seemed especially focused on the road while Ren fiddled with one of their grocery bags. Kyoko pulled it out of his grip and leveled him with a glare, making the man pout and stare out the window. It seemed he was also feeling unsure about all this. "I don't understand why you feel the need to cater to that girl. She's just throwing a fit. I get that she hates her dad, but she's always being so dramatic and whiny about men as a whole." Kanae ranted.

"It'll be fine. We're just having a friendly get-together." Kyoko waved off her friend's worries.

"It's going to be a lot of food to prepare." Ren trailed, eyeing the bags at her feet and the one she had taken from him. He looked down at the two he had at his feet, only for Kyoko to put a foot in his lap to keep him from reaching for them.

"Are you forgetting that I cooked for your father?" she asked as his eyes trailed up her leg before rising to meet her eyes.

"Even so, I could help you cook. I'll follow all your instructions. No salt bread, I promise." Kyoko held back her laughter as her lips stretched into a grin.

"I guess as long as I don't have to worry about salt bread, I can handle you being in the kitchen." she teased. Ren smiled warmly at her as he fiddled with her foot on his lap. "At the very least, this will allow us to get more information on her older sister. Hasegawa Kaomi... we've been worried about what kind of things she might know of and talk to others about, right?" Kyoko explained, looking to Ren uncertainly. The man was busying his mind by taking off her shoe and playing with her toes through the thin sock. She contemplated scolding him, but ultimately decided to let him be for now.

"That's right, you mentioned that she ran into you guys one morning on your way out." Yashiro inserted, looking a bit worried and barely remembering to slow down before taking a turn.

"Yashiro~..." Ren ground out in warning once everyone steadied in their seats again.

"Sorry! It won't happen again!"

"She did mention gossip, but she also said she didn't say names to... customers?" Kyoko pondered thoughtfully. Ren frowned lightly at that. He didn't know a whole lot about the various service industries in japan, but for someone to have clients that they gossiped to..., it seemed risky to let that kind of person know too much about their personal life.

They reached the apartment complex and were walking down the hallway toward Kyoko's apartment when they saw the Hasegawa sisters, Aika blocking the way as it looked like the older sister was trying to head out in another slightly formal outfit. Kaomi seemed somewhat exasperated, shaking her head with a resigned sigh as Aika noticed the group and lifted her chin in silent victory. Where they perhaps having a fight of some sort?

"It would be rude to walk out in front of your gracious hosts, wouldn't it? It's not like you have some special event today or something, so you can just call in." Aika sounded almost mocking in her smug tone as she argued whatever case she was holding. Kaomi didn't look pleased, backing up with a deep frown and a defensive cross of her arms.

"You can't keep doing this, Aika."

"I'll keep doing it until you quit."

"Aika..."

"It's _one day_! You can't even spare one day to enjoy good _clean_ fun with your little sister and her company?" She hissed out. Kaomi flinched back, looking guilty as Kyoko and her group stood awkwardly to the side. What a scene to play out in the middle of the hallway. Even if they weren't saying anything too personal, it felt incredibly private just from their intense expressions. Kyoko quietly wondered if she should feel guilty for soaking up the scene for possible reference in her acting for the future.

"Fine," Kaomi finally relented with a sigh, pulling out her phone and begining to type away quickly. Aika seemed to preen happily as she turned to the group.

"Thanks for inviting us over, Kyoko." The aspiring singer chirped almost forcefully. Kanae bit her tongue to hold back a retort of how Aika had been the one forcing their hand. The two men behind them awkwardly wondered what it was about Kaomi's job that was making Aika so insistent that she quit.

* * *

 _As always, thanks for your support as you read and follow my writing. I will be cranking out some stuff as I go over and edit it in the next few days, so look forward to that. I hope you've all had a fantastic beginning to your new year._

 _Kaname671- I'm glad you enjoyed last chapter and I hope this one served you well also. I certainly agree with you about Sho being immature, and of course Ren wants to get in his sweetheart's pants! He doesn't NEED to, but his resolve is definitely wavering and he wants to make sure he does things properly, to ensure that Kyoko won't have any regrets about being with him. Looking at their personalities, Kyoko is very much the spontaneous and "in the moment" type. She's being a bit forward in my story, where I think she would usually be more reserved in canon, but I'm channeling a bit more into her stubbornness and maturing into understanding that it's okay to want things and rely on your lover to understand those desires. Ren is helping her a bit in this as well by pushing her to actually talk to him about what those curiosities and desires are._

 _Erza Tsuruga- I hope things made more sense in this chapter. I mentioned at the beginning of this chapter, but the site's app seems to hate my writing style for some reason. I'm also just crap in general when it comes to typing on my phone, probably._

 _Ashenvale- sorry about the long waits. I want to blame life for being busy, but it's not JUST that. There have been a couple times I probably could have published the chapter a little sooner or made more of an effort. Honestly, I have so many ideas for various stories that I've typed up, but I'm weary of publishing any of them because I just don't want the responsibility of writing them in full. This fiction has gotten so long, and I still have such a long way to go. Meanwhile, I really just want to focus on my original content. I did this to myself, though. I started this as an exercise and created a responsibility I have to finish. I just hope I don't destroy everything in the process of said completion._

 _valie france- wow, thank you for coming to read my stories. I feel really honored when people of other langues come to read my work, as it likely takes a bit more effort for the translation. I'll say now that I can read and understand languages fairly well (mostly Italian, followed by Spanish and a SLIVER of french), but my speech is lacking due to struggling to find the right words, and I don't have ANY confidence in writing in another language. I hope that's okay and I hope you enjoy the continuation of this story to its end._

 _Thank you everyone that has been waiting patiently for this story and thank you to all who commented. I was so flattered to have all of your comments and support despite seemingly dropping off the edge of the earth._


	17. Chapter 17

_For those of you readers starting to hate me, worry not for you are not alone. I also hate myself immensely. Ha ha... eh. If you got an email about last chapter updating, it's just me adding the author responses and fixing a little typo I missed when going over everything again (thank you Erza Tsuruga, for always catching my horrendous spelling), no need to go look at it again unless you just really like my commentary (is there even anyone that does?)._

 _ONWARD!_

 _Kyoko is hosting a small dinner with her neighbors, the Hasegawa sisters, as well as Ren, Yashiro, and Kanae. Kaomi Hasegawa, having heard the sounds of passion coming from Kyoko's apartment in the past, could potentially cause a problem for the celebrity couple. Will they get through the dinner unscathed? Or will their carefully constructed facade fall apart due to their passion for each other?_

 _I don't own skip beat or its characters. (Are disclaimers still required at this point?)_

 _enjoy_

* * *

"Thank you for graciously inviting us, Kyoko-san." Kaomi spoke as everyone worked on shedding their shoes in the doorway. Kanae was out of hers first, slipping into the kitchen with a few shopping bags and an unhappy scowl on her face. Kaomi tracked the dark-haired beauty with curious eyes as she went, carefully undoing the straps on her own heels.

"It's no problem at all!" Kyoko assures, getting her shoes off just a little after the two men who were already taking the remaining bags of groceries into the kitchen. "I usually only have Moko-er-Kanae-san or Tsuruga-san over, so it's a nice change of pace."

"Tsuruga-san? Don't you call him Ren?" Kaomi asked, clearly confused as she followed Kyoko into the kitchen.

"Eh? Since when?" Yashiro spoke up, turning to join the conversation as the girls walked up. Now that he thought about it, she had done that maybe once or twice, but mostly she kept to calling him 'Tsuruga-san', or 'Kuon' when she was seriously scolding him in private. Kaomi opened her mouth to speak before realization filled her gaze and a smirk tugged at her lips.

"Oh, I think I get it." She giggled as her eyes flicked between the secret celebrity couple. Ren watched her with a blank expression as Kyoko turned a bit pale. "I wonder how that'll work out in the future, having your given name acting as something lewd with your lover." Yashiro sputtered indignantly as he spun on Ren, the actor looking quite unhappy while Kyoko flailed about. Everything seemed to erupt into chaos between the couple and their manager.

"Ren! You said you hadn't!"

"We haven't."

"You're updating Yashiro on how far we go?!"

"Kyoko, you know how he acts! He gets these ideas in his head and insists upon them unless I cut him down completely without question."

"What does she mean lewd, then? What's this about being lovers?"

"You don't need to have sex to be intimate!"

"K-! Tsuruga-san!"

"How else am I supposed to respond to this?" Ren defended frantically, gesturing to Yashiro with a whip of his hand. The banter fell silent as the three of them eyed each other, Kyoko and Yashiro bright red as Ren looked completely exasperated. Kaomi turned away with a hand over her mouth, shaking with barely suppressed laughter. Kanae pursed her lips as she watched he older girl, her eye catching an equally disturbed look from Aika in the kitchen doorway.

"The kitchen is too crowded! Everyone out!" Kyoko ordered suddenly, pointing a firm finger toward the main room.

"But-" Ren started to object only for her to whip her finger, quietly stating that it was not up for debate. Slowly, the other party members started to filter out of the kitchen, including the pouting and grumbling actor. Kaomi stayed and Kyoko contemplated how to urge her out in the kindest way possible.

"Hasegawa-san, can you-"

"I'm going to help you cook." The woman cut off with a soft smile. Kyoko eyed her wearily.

"That's really not necessary." Kyoko urged. Kaomi shook her head.

"It's not about it being necessary. I might not be able to cook anything super complex or extravagant, but I'm capable enough and... it's been a while since I cooked something for my little sister." She admitted, looking toward the main room where some soft chatter could be heard between the others. "If I'm being honest, this is a selfish request stemming from me piggy-backing on an opportunity." Kaomi admits. Kyoko sighed in defeat and nodded her consent.

"Fine, I think I understand." Kyoko surrendered as she got to work. She was a bit surprised when Kaomi pulled out her phone from a little hidden pocket on her dress, fiddling with it until music started blaring out with a heavy base but somewhat slow beat. Kyoko eyed her wearily and the woman snickered lightly.

"Cooking is more fun with music!" She explains excitedly. Kyoko rose her eyebrows in response.

"I guess music is deeply ingrained in your family, huh?" She observed. "Are you also a singer? At another company maybe?" But then why wouldn't Aika go there? Wait no, she mentioned having customers before, so she probably worked in some kind of service industry. Kaomi shifted her gaze away with a small smile plastered on her face, not reaching her eyes. ' _Fake_ ' Kyoko noticed immediately.

"I wasn't born with mother's gift for music. I can play a couple instruments decently enough, but my vocal ability... I can only sing so softly if I want it to be even bearable, and I'm not creative enough to write up new melodies and lyrics." She explained as she set about washing her hands and going over to see what Kyoko was preparing. Kyoko peeked over to the woman from the corner of her eye, finding her with a somewhat far-off gaze. She has customers and plays instruments, sometimes talking to them about all kinds of things. Kyoko smiled with understanding.

"Even playing more than one instrument decently is pretty amazing, I think." Kyoko assures happily. "I bet your customers enjoy hearing you play." Kaomi's eyes flicked to meet Kyoko's studying her curiously.

"What do you think I do for my job, Kyoko-san?" She asked. Kyoko seemed to hesitate at that.

"Well..., based off what you've described, I figured maybe you work at a bar, probably a bartender? You have customers you get to talk to, and maybe sometimes you can play a song for a nice mood, and you go out looking pretty nice kind of late in the day." She listed off thoughtfully. Kaomi looked surprised.

"Wow, that's amazing. You're pretty observant, huh?" She asked and Kyoko beamed happily at the praise. "I don't play music for my job, though." She corrected, causing Kyoko's smile to fall in favor of a curious gaze. "I took up learning those things to make mother happy, and then to play for Aika. I've never played an instrument in a public setting like that before. I also don't work as a bartender anymore, though I can still mix drinks when I want to. My work these days is usually more... entertaining." She explained with a slight smirk.

* * *

Kanae felt annoyed, distracting herself by reading a light novel on her phone as slowly as possible. Aika grumpily played some game on her phone, ignoring everyone around her. Yashiro sat quiet and nervous, wishing this night would just end. He had hoped to get a better grasp of the knowledge the Hasegawa sisters held on his wards, but he didn't even know where to begin in approaching the younger sister, and the older sister was currently in the kitchen with Kyoko, who was unwilling to let anyone else intrude on the limited space. He was worried about Kaomi picking up more information on Kyoko and Ren by talking to the girl, but he supposed he would just need to trust the young talent for the time being.

Ren let out a small noise of victory where he was in front of the television, fiddling with the remote.

"I got it. What should we watch?" He asked looking back at the other three in the room. On the screen showed rows of movies they could rent, ranging widely in genre, origin, and age.

"Why not some princess movie?" Kanae spoke up first with a snort and a roll of her eyes. "Seems fitting enough, seeing as we're at Kyoko's place."

"And it'll be lighthearted, so we don't have to focus too much on it or feel compelled to watch it all the way through." Yashiro piped up in eager agreement. Ren looked to Aika for her opinion, only for the girl to look far from amused.

"What about a gore film? We won't have to feel compelled to watch that either." She remarked, a smirk slowly tugging at her lips. Yashiro paled and Ren looked back to the screen as he navigated through the movies.

"Princess film it is. Maybe an animated one? Hm..." Aika scoffed and rolled her eyes before going back to playing on her phone.

"Dinner's ready!" Kyoko called happily as she and Kaomi walked in with a few plates and bowls, starting to set everything out on the coffee table. It was going to be a little crowded with six of them, but they could make do, and there was still more room than the tiny breakfast table in the kitchen. "What are you doing, Tsuruga-san?" She asked as she spotted him over by the television.

"Just getting a movie started, something that doesn't have to demand our attention." He explained before pushing play and getting up, instantly following her to the kitchen so as to help bring whatever else was needed. He wasn't expecting Kyoko to drop a bomb on him.

"Tsuruga-san, what's a lap dance?" He froze for half a minute, then slowly turned to look at her.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"What's a lap dance? Er... you don't know either? I thought maybe you would have run into it in one of your vocabulary searches for scripts and such." She huffed with a troubled look before walking out to the living room.

"Wait..." Ren called as he hastily followed after her, fairly confident that this had something to do with the older Hasegawa sister.

"Moko-san, what's a lap dance?" Kyoko tried to ask quietly as she set another item on the table near her friend. It was not quiet enough. Yashiro choked on food he hadn't even gotten in his mouth yet, the older man whipping an accusing look of shock and judgment on Ren as he tried to clear his throat. The room fell silent save for the sound of music coming from the movie softly playing in the background. It seemed Kanae also thought Ren was at fault, while Aika held an unimpressed glare at her older sister. Ren was about to defend himself from Kyoko's two guard dogs but Kaomi burst out laughing, cutting the tension instantly.

"If you were confused about it, you could have just asked me, Kyoko-chan!" She laughed out before dissolving into a fit of giggles. Kyoko pouted with a blush as she glanced over to the woman.

"But you said it was super popular, and I felt a bit ignorant and embarrassed to not be aware of a trend despite being in the entertainment industry, so I thought I should maybe ask someone I knew a little better." Kyoko explained hastily. Yashiro's head snapped to look to Kaomi with wide eyes of shock. Aika glared at him menacingly from beside her older sister, compelling him to look away in shame despite having done nothing wrong. Kaomi started laughing harder, taking a deep breath in an attempt to calm herself before a few more giggles slipped out.

"I said they're popular with men and you should consider it for your relationship. They're not a trend. They're... a service, something intimate you can do with your lovers."

"Are you a stripper?" Kanae was the one that finally slapped the question into place, getting a confused look from Kyoko as Yashiro paled and Aika looked away with an annoyed frown. Ren was surprisingly unfazed, dutifully eating his food. It was a bit strange for him to be the only one eating properly for once, but Kyoko pushed that thought aside as she focused on the topic at hand.

"Exotic dancer is a more polite term, but no, though I did for a little while in the past." Kaomi stated as she tucked into her own food. "Right now I'm a hostess, but I have some of my own fun as well." Yashiro looked down at his meal, slowly trying to process this. It somewhat explained the scene they had witnessed in the hall upon arrival. Aika would obviously hate the thought of her sister working as a hostess. Even if Kaomi wasn't one of the kind to sell their bodies under the table, it was still a service that served and preyed on the desires of men. On top of that, she had basically admitted to going out for less innocent activities.

"I thought hosting had to do with serving drink and holding conversation to lonely perverted adults." Kanae commented with suspicion, crossing her arms defensively. Kaomi nodded to show her agreement.

"That's true, but it really depends on where you go. Every hosting bar is different, with different rules and expectations. I get most of my commissions from going out on dates." Kaomi explained cheerfully. Kanae looked less than pleased with all of this.

"So... a lap dance is... what exactly?" Kyoko interjected, looking at the other five around the table. She was the only one that didn't know what any of this was? She looked to Ren, hoping to find a companion in her ignorance, only to find him acting like this was totally normal. He seemed to be aware of the terms as well, leaving her alone in her confusion. She felt a bit annoyed at that realization. Ren sighed as he set his chopsticks down, resigning himself to explaining these kinds of things to his innocent and naive girlfriend. It was a good things she was so cute.

"A lap dance is much like how it sounds, where one person will move around -basically dancing- erotically on another person's lap. This is most commonly known to be done by a girl on a man, but people all do things to their own preference." He explained simply, just ready to get this conversation over with already. He had long gotten used to Kyoko's seemingly innocent inquiries to the more perverted side of the world. Kyoko looked to him with a mixture of embarrassment and uncertainty before it turned to shock as she looked to Kaomi.

"You do that as a job?" She asked incredulously. How did that even work? She did that for strangers? Didn't she get embarrassed?

"No, not anymore. I do that for fun sometimes, though. I might get a bit personal with some of my more favorable clientele, but for the most part-" Aika interrupted Kaomi by stabbing at her food angrily with her chopsticks, looking like she wanted to disintegrate it with some sort of heat vision or something.

"Can we talk about something else?" The younger sister growled out. Kaomi fell silent and took a bite of food as if to keep herself quiet. The movie was playing some other song now, bursts of color flashing across the screen that none of the party bothered to observe.

"Er... right! You mentioned before that you play some different instruments, Hasegawa-san." Kyoko scrambles, only for both sisters to look up. "I know A-Aika-san plays the guitar and sings, but what instruments does Kaomi-san play?" Kyoko asked, having to call them by their given names just to differentiate. It was... a little strange really.

"Oh, the usual stuff. I can play the guitar as well, the piano, flute, and even a bit of the harp, though not much." She lists off, growing a bit relaxed again at the turn of subject. The conversation soon trickled off and the party started watching the film instead. It seemed Ren had put on one of the various D*$n3y animated films. Kyoko watched excitedly, not even noticing when she finished her food and Ren took both their dishes to the kitchen.

 _"-on a magic carpet ride! A whole new world!"_

Kaomi let out a little snort of laughter, gaining a displeased glare from Aika.

"I know that laugh." The younger sister grumbled unhappily. Kyoko looked over curiously at the exchange.

"What? It's funny!" Kaomi defended through a giggle.

"It's really not."

"What's funny?" Kyoko piped up, her eyes shifting between the two sisters as she attempted to get a grasp of the situation. She felt lost.

"Kaomi's just letting her mind swim in the gutter again." Aika responded with a scowl at the girl in question.

"The gutter?"

"They're talking about a 'magic carpet ride' and 'a whole new world'! How can you not see the double-meaning in that?" Kaomi insisted. Aika shook her head with an irritated sigh.

"I can hear your 'double-meaning' just fine. I just don't find it funny."

"Dirty humor is so funny!" Kaomi defended vehemently, an amused glint in her eyes as she riled her little sister up. Ren turned his head away and covered his mouth with his hand as he attempted to hold back his own amusement. Yashiro sighed in exasperation.

"Oh no, now there's two of them." The manager muttered helplessly. "Ren, don't you start." He spoke up in warning. Kyoko found herself at a complete loss.

"I didn't even say anything." He actor defended as he sat back in his spot beside Kyoko.

"You didn't need to. I've had to deal with you and your weird humor too much over the past several months. Seriously, what's gotten into you lately?"

"Wait, what did he do?" Kanae asked, turning to look between the others in confusion. The conversation sounded disjointed and strange, but it was still more interesting than some cheesy movie for kids. Yashiro huffed in exasperation as he waved a hand at the couple beside him.

"Ren's been laughing at innuendos and things with double-meanings lately just to see if Kyoko will catch on. I've tried scolding him, but he doesn't care much for my comfort, and even when I get Kyoko-chan to scold him, she doesn't understand the implications and her warnings end up empty because of it!" He explained with clear annoyance. Kanae rose her eyebrows curiously at the man in question, taking note of the tiny smirk pulling at the corner of his lips.

"What are you, twelve?" She asked him dryly. Ren merely grinned with a shrug. Aika nodded her agreement to that question on the other side of the table as her older sister gained a look of offense.

"Tsuruga-san may be a mature adult," Kyoko interjected, "but he's still childish in many ways." Yashiro nodded along in agreement. Kanae rolled her eyes.

"There's nothing wrong with having a bit of childish enjoyment every now and then." Kaomi stated pleasantly. Aika rolled her own eyes next to her but remained silent. "Actually, I would say that Tsuruga-san is still very much a child." That got a round of raised eyebrows from the rest of the table.

"Tsuruga-san is a legal adult, Hasegawa-san." Kyoko pointed out. The young woman waved it away quickly.

"The law decides what age we are considered adults purely to set a more defined line on what point in time people should be allowed to make certain decisions and take on certain responsibilities. I find it interesting how girls are given the ability to marry and such two years before boys, but we all are called 'legal adults' at the same time." Kaomi pointed out. "Women mature quicker than men."

"If they mature at all." Aika grumbled under her breath, clearly making a jab at her sister. Kaomi simply ignored the comment.

"That's What I've tried to explain to Ren!" Yashiro exclaimed, happy to have someone else who understood. "Girls mature even faster in the entertainment industry, yet this guy insisted that a couple years difference between love interests was enough to make it immoral to pursue." Kyoko glanced over to Ren, wondering when this conversation had taken place. Probably around the time of Katsuki? The problem hadn't even been the age difference. That had been an empty excuse for a broken man refusing to give himself happiness. She supposed Yashiro wouldn't know that, though.

"They say that woman reach their top maturity in their mid to late twenties, while men are in their early thirties before they reach peak maturity." Kanae provided. Kyoko gazed at her friend with fond admiration. Leave it to Kanae to hold information on various things. She smiled happily as she watched the three pick up the conversation. She didn't know if this was what a small house party was supposed to be, but she found it was just a bit fun to have a small gathering of people like this. Looking up to her boyfriend, she found him watching her fondly.

"Wha-? Why are you staring at me? Is there something on my face?" She asked, reaching up to feel around her mouth. Maybe some food got stuck to her lips or something? Ren chuckled lightly and reached up to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear.

"I just enjoy admiring you." He admitted softly. She blushed and gently let her head drop against his arm.

"Why did you have to say something so cute? Now I want to cuddle." She grumbled unhappily.

"Well, I want to take you on a magic carpet ride, so I guess that makes us even." He retorted with a smirk at her cute blush. Kyoko huffed and shook her head against him, somewhat understanding the implications of that now. This guy was insufferable sometimes.

"You disgusting creep!" Kyoko and Ren jolted apart at Aika's shout, looking over to her only to find her glaring at a frightened Yashiro.

"Aika, there's no need for that." Kaomi interjected softly, reaching for the younger girl only for her to shrug it off.

"Like hell there's not. He knows what he's doing. Don't you care at all? Doesn't it bother you when these guys only see you as some... some... midnight snack?" She whipped her hands around angrily. Kyoko looked to Kanae, hoping for some kind of insight on what had spurred this latest fit. The older girl merely frowned and rolled her eyes as she leaned in to whisper to her.

"Yashiro suggested they swap numbers. Hasegawa Kaomi asked him if he wanted her personal or work number, in which he suggested she give him both. Considering her profession and typical pastime of choice..., it doesn't look too innocent, even if he didn't intend it like that." The raven-haired girl sighed and shook her head before standing up. "I still have headache medicine here, right?" She asked, turning to get it as soon as Kyoko nodded.

"Aika, if I want to spend some time with pleasant company, regardless of the activities, that's my right as an individual." Kaomi defended herself sternly. This was obviously not the response Aika wanted, her face turning bright red as she shot to her feet.

"Fine then! Why not have them all join in? Have an orgy right next door for all I care! Maybe you can become their pet. It's probably one of your many kinks!" She yelled before storming to the front door. Kaomi didn't even flinch, simply sighing as she placed and elbow on the table and rested her chin in her hand. Kyoko looked to Ren with confusion, undoubtedly wondering what a couple of those words meant but knew it wasn't really the time to ask. The actor gave a small smile of reassurance.

"I'll explain anything you like later." He promised before his eyes shifted to the doorway as it slammed loudly. Kaomi groaned lightly and shook her head.

"I'm really sorry about her. She's always hated my jobs and such, but I guess it's gotten worse lately." She explained, looking a bit worn out from the argument.

"Is she going to be okay?" Kyoko asked, nodding to the doorway the younger girl had stormed out of. The woman sighed yet again.

"She'll be fine. This happens a lot. She gets upset about something to do with my work, we argue, she gets hotheaded, I try to reason with her, she storms out and cools her head for an hour or so then comes back and sulks. It's not usually so loud, and I'm careful about not bringing anyone home so it's the first time in a while that there's a direct victim, but it's not all that surprising, really. I somewhat expected something like this to happen as soon as she pressed for me to join you for dinner tonight." She looked to Yashiro apologetically. "I'm sorry you had to face her. She's really a good girl deep down." The manager straightened his glasses and tried to fix his hair, feeling a bit uncomfortable after all that.

"I'm sorry if I gave the impression that I wanted... well... something like that." He apologized awkwardly. Kaomi smiled behind her hand, holding back a bit of laughter.

"Don't worry about it. I was flattered, and you're cute. I wouldn't mind it if you gave me a call or two." She admitted with a wink. The man sputtered and scooted away from her nervously, pulling a stream of giggles from her. Ren looked down to Kyoko, only to find her already staring back at him. He raised his eyebrows curiously in response.

"I'm thinking about going after her." She admitted looking down from his gaze. "I know it's dark, and you said you don't like me running out this late, but Hasegawa Aika is even younger than me, and it's cold outside, and I just-"

"Would you like to go on a walk with me?" Ren interrupted. Her amber eyes shot up again, finding him smiling softly down at her and warming her from her core as she smiled back and nodded.

"Where are you two off to?" Kanae asked as they passed her in the hallway. Yashiro and Kaomi seemed to be having a somewhat quiet conversation as they discussed the sisters' relationship, but they looked up as they realized more people were leaving.

"Tsuruga-san and I are going for a short walk. Would you mind watching the place while we're gone?" Kyoko asked as Ren helped her into her coat. Kanae's eyebrows quirked up as she shifted her gaze between the two, eventually deciding to shrug and sigh in exasperation.

"Sure, whatever. I don't really understand why you want to go out of your way, but I guess it's none of my business. And _you_ better take care of Kyoko, Tsuruga." She warns firmly before slipping off into the kitchen where she could have some alone time and busy herself with cleaning while still keeping an ear out for the two supposed adults in the other room.

.

.

"I don't even know where to start looking." Kyoko lamented as soon as they stepped outside. Ren hummed and looked up and down the street.

"Well, people have a tendency to go left when they're faced with two equal options. If she's wandering around aimlessly, she's in a lot more danger than if she had a destination in mind. I say we head that direction." He explained. Kyoko smiled and nodded her agreement, slipping her hand into his. He seemed surprised at first, quickly giving way to a bright and warm smile as he gently swung their hands back and forth. Kyoko giggled cutely at his antics.

"You seem happy about this." She observed, squeezing his hand linked with hers. The man hummed lightly in thought as he brought her hand up to kiss the back, never releasing the fingers between his.

"We haven't really gotten to walk and hold hands other than our date a few months ago. It's nice."

"Yeah..., I want to go on another date." Kyoko sighed wistfully, blushing and pulling back when he looked over to her. "No, I mean... I know we can't really do that. It's just wishful thinking, obviously. I'm just saying that it would be nice if we could!"

"I still need to take you rock climbing." He hummed thoughtfully. "I would ask Lory for suggestions on private places we could go, but we both know how that would end." He sighed. Kyoko shivered at the thought. The eccentric man would undoubtedly suggest a bunch of over-the-top or crazy places. "We could also go camping. I might even be able to invite mom and dad, though that would mean we would have to not only get Yashiro on some serious scheduling, but we would also have to wait and see if they can make time in their own schedules." He pondered. Kyoko squeezed his hand excitedly and brought her other up to wrap around his arm, hugging it tightly to her.

"A camping trip with just you and me sounds fun as it is. Maybe we can get things in motion for a camping trip with mom and dad say... a year away, and we can have our own camping trip whenever just us two are free before that!" She suggested, quickly growing more and more excited. Ren chuckled and considered that for a moment.

"We can look into it at the very least." He states noncommittally. After all, he couldn't tell her that he planned to propose soon, which would mean they would likely be working on planning the wedding a year from now. Kyoko was about to comment on his vague answer when she paused, hearing soft humming and seeing a figure sitting on a bench just ahead, arms wrapped around legs as she buried her head in her knees.

"Hasegawa-san! Kyoko called out, breaking free of Ren to run over to the girl. Ren tried not to feel too sad about the loss of contact, opting to follow after the girl that was now fussing over the younger teen.

"What are you doing our here?" Aika asked, her words a little muffled and funny sounding as Kyoko squished her cheeks to turn her head this way and that. Ren smiled as he watched his girlfriend fuss over the girl, trying not to think too much of how he would like to see her fussing over her own children. Her caring and energetic nature really shined in moments like this, warming him from the inside out. He really couldn't figure out how she managed to get more and more beautiful with every little moment.

"We were worried about you, obviously!" Kyoko huffed as she finally released Aika's cheeks, satisfied that the girl seemed unharmed. "A young girl shouldn't be running out in the dead of night, especially an aspiring celebrity. There's real danger out in the city. Think of all the people that would be hurt if something were to happen to you!" Kyoko scolded. Ren grinned as he watched her relay the same lecture she had been given when she ran out before.

"It's not like anyone really cares." Aika grumbled under her breath, letting out a yelp as Kyoko chopped her hand down on the younger girl's head. "What was that for?"

"You take that back right now! You and your sister might be dysfunctional and terrible at communicating, but even I can tell just from tonight's dinner that she cares about you very much!" Kyoko huffed, planting her hands on her hips firmly. Just spending that short time cooking with the older Hasegawa sister had been enough for her to notice.

"If she cares so much, then why is she rarely home at night? Why does she keep doing those kinds of jobs? She knows I hate it. She insists it's to take care of me, but I don't want her doing those things for my sake!" She hugged her legs again, glaring across the street angrily. "I don't want to be the reason she lets those men slobber and drool all over her. I hate being some burden." With her face planted against her knees again, Kyoko was sure the girl was hiding so they wouldn't see her cry. She had done that plenty of times to hide her tears as a child. If no one saw your tears, they couldn't claim that you actually cried.

"I don't believe Hasegawa Kaomi has that job for your sake." Ren stated thoughtfully. Kyoko whipped her head around to glare at him with a hint of confusion.

"Tsuruga-san, how can you say that?" his girlfriend's tone was a mixture of uncertainty and disappointment, churning his gut sightly. He didn't like disappointing Kyoko, but some things needed to be said.

"I say it because I want Miss Hasegawa Aika here to think about these things clearly. I'm sure your sister is supporting you because she loves you, but her job choices are her own. You do know there are plenty of ways to support someone without sacrificing your morality, right? This girl here managed to hold several jobs on her own to support a selfish brat in an overly expensive apartment at one point." Ren explained as he set a hand on Kyoko's head. His cute girlfriend looked up at him curiously, eyes wide and searching as she tried to figure out where he was going with this. "Never once did she allow her purity to be questioned. On top of that, the place you live in now is a fairly good price from what Yukihito has told me in the past. To put it simply, your sister has the job she's at simply because that's where she has decided she wants to be. She's just selfishly using you as an excuse." Aika stared up at him with her mouth hanging open slightly.

"Why would anyone want to work in that kind of place? My sister isn't some... some low-life!" she defended vehemently. Ren crossed his arms defensively in front of his chest.

"I'm sure she probably has her reasons, but only she can tell you what those are. I'm only telling you what I know." Aika shook her head quickly, face flushing crimson as she fumed.

"Hasegawa-san," Kyoko called softly, attempting to sooth the younger girl at least a little, "I don't think there's anything wrong with your sister doing what she enjoys." She had to bite her tongue to keep from commenting on her personal thoughts of those choices. It wasn't her place.

"Enjoys? What makes you think she enjoys that?" Aika pushed Kyoko away from her, the older teen not putting up a fight and opting simply to sit by.

"Maybe I don't know much about you and your sister, **but**...," Kyoko sent a pointed look at the girl as she opened her mouth to interject, "I do know what I noticed. Hase-er... Kaomi-san was very happy and proud as she talked about her work. She enjoyed talking about funny stories from her clients when I asked about them during cooking together. She was excited and eager to talk about all your good points when I asked about you. Your sister loves you, but she's also a selfish in her own ways. I think she would be very happy if you just talked with her about her work." Aika let out a stubborn huff as she turned her head away in favor of resting her cheek on her knees. Kyoko looked to Ren with uncertainty, the man granting her a supportive smile and thumbs-up. Her body warmed happily at the silent praise, wishing they could go back to just walking together but knowing that leaving Aika by herself would weigh too heavily on her conscience.

"I just don't see how Kaomi could like that kind of thing. It... it's absurd." Aika grumbled unhappily. Silence stretched as Kyoko found herself at a loss of how to respond.

"You won't know unless you ask her directly." Ren finally answered. Aika lifted her head to glance up at him unhappily for a moment before she heaved a sigh and released her knees in favor of standing from the bench.

"I guess this is where you send me back home to apologize."

"Well...," Ren considered that for a moment, "mostly we're here because Kyoko wanted to make sure you were okay, and I wanted to make sure she was safe." he answered honestly. Aika quirked an eyebrow up curiously at that. "I personally think you should apologize for snapping at Yukihito and your sister, but that really depends on how much you care about your character and interactions with others. They're both sturdy adults, so they won't really be hurt by a child's temper-tantrum. You're only hurting yourself and your relationships by lashing out like that." He explained. Kyoko elbowed him roughly in the ribs and he pouted down at her as he rubbed the spot she had hit him.

"Aren't you being a bit harsh there, Tsuruga-san?" his girlfriend hissed under her breath. Ren huffed out a short laugh through his nose as he shook his head.

"Honest people like Hasegawa-san react best to honest and straight-forward explanations." he retorted simply.

"That's fine by me." Aika huffed before pausing to consider her words. "What I mean is..., thanks?" she grumbled out the appreciation, but Ren simply nodded his acceptance.

* * *

 _Well, that was difficult to get through. Honestly, I don't feel like getting too much into my original characters for this story. They're really just around for pushing the story forward and showing how Kyoko and Ren are personally growing as both individuals and as a couple. I'm happy that dinner is over, and I hope none of you got too turned off by all of it._

Kaname671 _\- I'm glad you enjoyed last chapter. You guessed right! Kaomi is indeed a hostess, though she has explored in various types of shady businesses. I have a vague backstory of that, but I don't have any plans to really get into it other than MAYBE hinting here and there. I actually did a bunch of research on hosting in Japan for accuracy sake. Even so, I can only provide what I find from online searches, so please let me know if there is ever anything I fubbed due to my lack of personal experience._

 _Guest- I hope you weren't unhappy with Kaomi's job. She's not a pure and innocent girl. She's a little older than Ren/Kuon, and already seen a good bit of the shadier parts of the world. Her story isn't meant to be a happy one, but I didn't want her to be pitiful either. I think I gave a pretty good balance..._

Erza Tsuruga _\- Thank you for always reading my work. I always try to go back and fix my mistakes from your comments, so keep them coming, haha. I really don't expect anyone to be crazy about Aika. She's really just there to show the growth of Kyoko and maybe a little of Ren. She's a trouble child and a bit of a brat, but hopefully realistic in her character?_

cinderamethyst _-thank you! I've mentioned it before, but this kind of story (coming of age/slice of life) is really out of my comfort zone. It was meant to be a writing exercise for me more than anything. I'm much more comfortable with writing fantasy/adventure maybe a bit of shonen? Part of why I've been lacking in posting this story is because I've been spending so much of my free time writing about... something close to a reincarnation story? I could go on for hours about how the magic and lore works, gushing about swordsmanship and dragon culture, but that's not really what anyone came here for, haha._

 _As always, thank you for reading and supporting my work. See you again soon._


	18. Chapter 18

_Everyone can thank Erza Tsuruga for waking me from my long slumber with the reminder that this story exists._

 _Kyoko's impromptu dinner party is finally drawing to a close. After dealing with the Hasegawa sisters and ensuring Aika is calm and safe after her little temper-tantrum, Kyoko is just about ready to toss everyone out and call it a night. Good thing she has her boyfriend to help her make it through to the end._

 _I still do not own any of the 'Skip Beat!' Characters._

 _Enjoy._

* * *

Kanae opened Kyoko's front door at the sound of a soft knock, raising her eyebrows when she found Hasegawa Aika standing there like a scolded puppy.

"Kyoko and Tsuruga went out to look for you." The older girl informed. Aika nodded timidly.

"I know. They sent me back here and said they wanted to continue their walk." She responded, her voice small and arms held tightly around herself. Kanae heaved a sigh and let the young teen in, quietly wondering if the secret couple would be alright left to themselves like that. Someone was bound to catch sight of them, and then it would only be a matter of time before there was a whole article speculating their relationships again. She had to wonder if those two even cared at this point. Hopefully Yashiro would be able to handle it should that happen. It seemed a little unfair to mindlessly give he older man extra work, though.

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* * *

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"I've been thinking about my birthday...," Kyoko starts slowly. Ren glanced over to her as they walked, quietly urging her to continue. "Since I'll be turning eighteen, do you think I should get a drivers license?" The man instantly grew tense and weary.

"Why? There isn't really a need, is there?" Ren asked, sounding somewhat cautious. Kyoko looked back to him with a pouting frown.

"Why do I hear so much doubt in your voice? Are you thinking that I can't?"

"I never said that. I'm sure you'll learn fine and probably very quickly..., it's your quality of driving that worries me."

"What?" Kyoko stopped and turned on him, hands placed on her hips firmly. Ren heaved a sigh and turned to face her as well. He had promised to be completely honest with her from now on, but he was definitely regretting that promise right now. "You think I'll be a bad driver? Why?" She demanded vehemently. Ren groaned as he ran a hand down his face slowly.

"For starters, I distinctly recall a time when you were acting as my manager and we had to take a cab. When we ended up stuck in traffic, do you remember what you told the driver?" He quizzed her carefully. Kyoko pursed her lips as she looked away. She didn't remember saying anything specific, but... "you told the driver something along the lines of demanding he ram into other cars and push them out of the way." He reminded her with a firm crossing of his arms. Kyoko fiddled with her fingers timidly at that. She could somewhat recall that time now that he mentioned it.

"But... you were going to be late." She defended timidly. Ren shook his head in reply.

"That doesn't matter. Before you get on the road, you have to first understand that driving is a privilege and a responsibility. You have to be mindful of how your actions effect everyone else on the road and how your safety heavily relies on your ability to keep you head even in the most stressful situations." Kyoko felt a shiver zip up her spine as she recalled the accident Ren narrowly avoided on the set of Dark Moon some time ago. Unable to stand it, she reached out and grabbed his hand in both of hers before stepping closer and nuzzling against his arm.

"Kyoko?" He called out softly as he pat her head.

"Sorry, I guess I'm just... empathizing with your past reactions to things or something." She mumbled and curled around his arm until she was snuggled against his side, his arm holding her snugly to him as she hugged it tight. Ren smiled softly and wrapped his other arm around her before placing a gentle kiss to the top of her head.

"Hey, no need to freak out about it now. You already helped me past that, you know." He coaxed. Kyoko let out a little noise of protest as she twisted around in his arms and pressed her face into his armpit. Ren chuckled lightly and picked her up, making her squeal with surprise. "Tell you what, I'll help teach you how to drive, but you're not allowed to get a car yet." He offers as he spun her around a couple time. Kyoko giggled and messed up his hair, smiling down at how cute and young he looked when he was grinning like a fool with messy hair.

"I think I can accept that." She agreed and hugged his neck, sealing the deal with a kiss on his nose. Ren beamed up at her before finally setting her down and kissing the top of her head.

"We can talk to Yashiro about ensuring we have some space in our schedules for your driving lessons after your birthday. I'm pretty sure things will be a little too busy before then to have a true lesson." Ren mused thoughtfully as they began to walk again.

"We could just have a short one after work each day. It might be a bit dark, but there will also be less people around, right?" Kyoko suggested. Ren shook his head in denial even before she finished the thought.

"When you're first learning to drive, you need to have full visibility. There are too many factors and things that can go wrong for you to take an unnecessary risk. I can teach you the mechanics of a car before then, but no driving practice until we can have a block of time in daylight."

"The mechanics of a car?" Kyoko puzzled, looking over to her boyfriend. Ren smiled back at her, finding that he was really glad they decided to continue their little walk. There was something so peaceful and warm about walking and talking with her, despite the chilly winter air.

"A car is a machine and a tool. To hold proper and safe control of any machine, you need to know at least the very basics of how it works. Things like checking the oil, watching the tread on your tires, what parts of the car do what... There's also the question of if you want to learn manual or automatic. I have a manual, or stick-shift, while Yashiro drives an automatic. Most cars in japan are automatics now days, but I can still teach you manual if you want to put the extra knowledge under your belt." Kyoko puzzled a bit at the weird phrase but mostly understood what it meant.

"You know me so well." she claimed affectionately. Ren chuckled and pat her head.

"Just one of my many fairy powers." He joked. Kyoko rolled her eyes.

"In hindsight, I can't believe I was so gullible. Anything that might have exposed you was just written off as fairy magic. You're such a terrible liar."

"Yeah," Ren sighed and ran a hand through his hair, "I know. I do feel bad about it, but I don't think I would act differently given the chance again. Maybe things could have gone better and more smoothly if I was honest with you in Guam, but I can't help worrying over the possibility of it going worse." Kyoko nodded along quietly as she slipped her hand in his, threading their fingers together.

"That's okay. I love you despite your many ridiculous faults. Maybe it's the fairy magic." she teased. Ren laughed lightly and lead Kyoko up the stairs of her apartment building. when had they gotten back? She didn't even notice.

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* * *

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"Thank you so much for hosting this dinner, Kyoko-chan." Kaomi said with a slight bow. Aika gave a tiny hesitant bow next to her sister, the younger girl having stayed quiet ever since her return to the apartment.

"It was no problem at all," Kyoko assured vehemently, "in fact, I had quite a bit of fun. It was interesting seeing how you dance and cook at the same time. You look like you enjoy it a lot." She commented eagerly. Kaomi giggled at that.

"If you ever want to learn some moves, feel free to message my private number. I gave it to your manager already." she offered. The party said one last round of goodbyes to the sisters before both Hasegawas left. Kyoko let out a heavy sigh or relief.

"That was fun, but super exhausting." She admitted. Kanae let out a short laugh from the couch she had flopped back on.

"You're telling me! I had to look after the brat way more than you, you know." Kyoko scratched at her jaw awkwardly.

"Sorry..."

"Nah, whatever, I don't really care. Just don't make a habit out f it. I babysit enough at home."

"Speaking of home," Yashiro spoke up, "I should get going soon. Luckily, it seems there isn't much damage control to be done with those two. They've apparently come to the conclusion that Kuon is Ren's disguise for going out for private matters, namely going out on dates with Kyoko-chan." He explained.

"That's ironic." Kanae commented with a tiny huff of amusement from her nose. Kyoko looked to Ren with a bit of uncertainty.

"Is that okay?" She asked, knowing how worried he had been about people connecting him with his past self. Ren smiled and pat her on the head. Kyoko beamed up at him cheerfully as she placed both her hands on top of his, holding it in place as she looked over to Yashiro. "Then I would say tonight was a success! Thank you for coming over, Yashiro-san, Mok-er-Kanae-chan." She stated happily. Kanae rolled her eyes and stood with a hearty stretch.

"Yeah, whatever. I can't risk you finding a new best friend after all."

"Moko-saaaan!" Kyoko whined out happily as she flung herself at the older girl. Ren looked to Yashiro as the girls went about their usual little scuffle.

"Will you be taking Kotonami-san home, or would it be better for me to?" He asked. Yashiro shook his head with a light smile.

"It's no trouble at all. I'll already be driving anyway, and it would hurt my pride as a manager and your elder if I let you take on the responsibility." He stated with a playful huff.

"But if you're getting so old, isn't your time more valuable? As a younger man, I should look after my elders, shouldn't I?" Ren teased. Yashiro's eyebrows tweaked in annoyance.

"Is it just me, or have you become more of a smart-ass?"

"Nonsense, my ass has always been this smart."

"You shouldn't be staring at Tsuruga-san's ass, Yashiro-san," Kanae cut in, Kyoko desperately holding back giggles behind her hand, "it belongs to Kyoko now and I don't think she's one to share." Kyoko couldn't hold back her laugher when Ren beemed happily at that. The man was far too pleased to have his posterior claimed by his petit girlfriend.

"Get out of here before it gets too much later." Kyoko forced out between giggles. Yashiro and Kanae soon left with a few more goodbyes and reminders of when to be ready the following day, as well as to not stay up too late with some loaded looks and winks from both of them. Ren rolled his eyes as Kyoko vehemently denied any plans for such activities.

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* * *

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"You want to come with me?" Ren clarified. Kyoko puzzled over his confusion.

"Is that... not okay? Were you wanting some space?"

"No, no, not at all. I just thought it would be good for me to actually spend some time at my own place, seeing as we aren't technically living together yet. Not to mention, this whole thing kind of started because of how often I've been staying over." He admitted. "I'm only surprised because you usually want more space around this time." Kyoko blinked a couple times, suddenly confused.

"I do? When?" She pondered, trying to recall a time she wanted more space. Ren looked a little uncertain now.

"The second week of the month. You usually ask for more space and want more time to yourself, or to go spend time with Kotonami-san." He explained. Kyoko tilted her head thoughtfully at that. Did she have such a pattern? A couple seconds of silence ticked by before her eyes widened in recognition, followed by her face twisting in uncertainty.

"I... think it's fine..." she stated weakly. Ren watched her for a moment before exhaling through his nose and gracing her with a light smile.

"Kyoko," he called, pulling her attention fully to him, "im positive it's fine. No matter what, we will be okay." He assured. Kyoko twiddled her thumbs light as her face warmed. She wasn't quite sure how to feel about the realization of how aware he was of... that kind of thing.

"When did you... Er..." she muttered out timidly. Ren his his amusement behind his hand as he gave a short cough, looking away awkwardly.

"It was pretty obvious after the second month of dating actually." He admitted, glancing back at her wii a lopsided smile. Kyoko huffed in annoyance and smacked his arm.

"Why do you have to be so observant? Ugh!" She whined out. Ren chuckled and leaned in, giving her a light kiss on the crown of her head.

"Of course I'll be aware of the girl I love." He replied, grin widening as Kyoko turned pink and made grumbling noises under her breath. "In any case, get packed up for the night and we'll head out." He states as he goes to make sure everything was properly cleaned up after the party. It would be no good to leave the place dirty.

Kyoko hesitated for a moment before deciding that yes, she still wanted to go with him. She would just make sure to pack some sanitary products in her overnight bag. She quietly wondered if she should leave a small stash of them at his place in case of future emergencies, but quickly shook away the thought. She wasn't quite _that_ comfortable yet.

The walk from Kyoko's place to Ren's was made in comfortable silence. The world was so quiet in the chilly air, and Kyoko enjoyed watching their breath cloud the air and drift away simultaneously as she tried to match their breathing. She smiled as she learned that her boyfriend takes slow and deep breaths. It wasn't difficult to breath at the same rate as him, but it was certainly more natural for her to take smaller and quicker breaths.

Entering Ren's appartment, the place was _cold_! She breathed into her hands as she followed him to the air control. It was good that he preserved energy by not leaving it on while he was away, but she wasn't sure how she felt about his place being so cold upon his return. A home should be warm and welcoming.

"Maybe I should make us some tea? It'll help until the apartment warms up more." She suggested as the heater buzzed to life. Ren hummed as he nodded.

"That sounds good. A hot bath could also help." He stated. There was a pause before a smirk pulled at his lips as realization settled in on how that could be insinuating. Kyoko huffed and rolled her eyes.

"You've really grown more perverted ever since we started dating." She grumbled as she shuffled off to the kitchen. Ren followed her without question.

"Only because I like letting you know how tempting you are." He reasoned. Kyoko looked unconvinced and Ren frowned as he crossed his arms. "What's that look for? Are you trying to say I have bad tastes?" Kyoko pouted in response and turned away as she worked on filling the kettle and putting it on the stove. "I'll stop if you want me to, you know." He stated a bit more softly. Kyoko peeked back at him, finding him watching her with a concerned expression. She huffed and rolled her eyes as her cheeks pinked slightly.

"No..., it is very flattering. I like knowing you actually find me... desirable, and it's not like you do it in public where just anyone can hear. I guess I'm just still getting used to actually... _being_ desirable to someone." She conceded. Ren hummed lightly as he absorbed that, coming up behind her and slowly sliding his arms around her waist. Kyoko leaned backwards into him as she watched the kettle, quietly chewing her lip as she felt a tiny bulge pressing against her.

"Does this help at all?" He murmured into her ear. Kyoko nodded timidly in response.

"You really have become a bit of a pervert."

"Only for you. And only because you're willing to accept my advances." Kyoko giggles lightly and pressed her bottom backward into him, the boy's arms tightening around her slightly as he swallowed thickly. Kyoko grinned as she felt him growing more needy.

"Right back at you." She teased. Ren leaned down and kissed her neck before slowly unwinding himself from her. Kyoko instantly felt the chill of the apartment again. "Did I push too much?" She asked worriedly, looking back at him. Ren cleared his throat as he smoothed back his hair a couple times.

"I'm just cooling my head. You're so tempting like this."

"Like this?" Did she do something odd?

"In my home, being... you. You're just so...," Kyoko fidgeted as he visibly took in her whole form, letting out a little groan under his breath, "I'm no match against you." She puzzled over that as she turned back to the rising whistle of the kettle, taking it off the burner and pouring the tea carefully.

"I don't think there's anything all that significant about me. Anyone can do what I do if they just try a bit. My looks aren't all that great either."

"First of all, the fact that you do try is already more than what a lot of people can say. Second of all, I need you to understand that you are absolutely beautiful, adorable, sexy-" Kyoko barked out a short laugh at that, cutting him off. Ren frowned in dissaproval.

"Sexy? What exactly about me is sexy?" She laughed in disbelief. Ren crossed his arms firmly.

"Kyoko, you are an amazing woman. As such," he rose his voice a little in volume when it looked like she was about to object again, "as a _woman_ , you move in a way that all women do. I don't know how to describe it, but it's increadibly enticing. All women move that way. _You_ move that way, and I love seeing _you_ move that way. You're sexy. You can never convince me you aren't sexy, so save your breath." He stated with finality. Kyoko fidgeted as she took that all in.

"I move like a woman? It looks sexy?"

"Yes. Understand now?" Kyoko nodded timidly, a tiny smile pulling at her lips. There was something strangely reassuring about that, even knowing that he had been with plenty of women in the past..., especially so. She naturally moved in that way he liked, in a way that the sexy girl he was attracted to moved.

"I'm glad they were too stupid to hold onto you." She stated as she picked up the cups of tea and started off to the main room. Ren followed after her and she glanced back, quietly preening as she found him watching her.

"Honestly, I am too. I might not have found such a treasure if someone had held onto me properly. I'm glad... I was able to have this chance with you." He admitted, quietly opting from mentioning all that had occurred to result in such a chance. Kyoko smiled and sat next to him on the floor, their teas quietly steaming on the coffee table next to them.

"So, you don't care that I don't have... a lot of sex appeal?" She asked, looking quietly down at her chest. Ren let out a snort and she looked up in quiet shock.

"Kyoko, breasts aren't everything. You have enough for me to enjoy, and I'm happy so long as they have the sensitivity for you to enjoy me touching them. Besides," his hand came over and glided along the outside of her thigh before sliding over her hip and down to cradle one of her butt cheeks, "I find this part to be far more interesting." He claimed, giving a light squeeze. Kyoko hid her face in his neck and clung to his sweater, nodding quietly in acceptance.

"I guess that's fine, then." She mumbled out softly. Ren chuckled lightly and slowly slid his hand upward, sneaking under her shirt and letting his fingerstips brush her skin. His hands were so warm and delightful as they brushed lightly over her side, up and up before gently palming one of her breasts. She whimpered softly as she realized she had leaned back, laying on the floor as he hovered over her. His breath ghosted over her ear and a shiver zipped through her body.

"See? Nice and sensitive." He spoke softly into her ear and she let out another whimper.

"Everyone is sensitive there." She whined out.

"Wrong. Everyone is different. Some people aren't sensitive at all. You are sensitive all over, but your best spots...," he gently pushed up her bra and glided his thumb on the underside of her left breast, the girl letting out a mewl of pleasure as she squirmed under him. His hand glided down her stomach and trailed over her hip bone before spreading or at the small of her back. Kyoko panted and let out more little noises of pleasure.

"Kuon~" She moaned his name pleadingly and he slowly pressed his body more fully against hers, tilting his head before capturing her lips fully. Her hands slid into his hair and he moaned into their kiss, sucking air in through his nose before separating and beginning to slowly kiss a trail down her neck.

"You're so soft. So delectable." He groaned against her collar before pushing her shirt and jacket up. The chilled air assaulted her skin before hot hands and lips heated her up again. The contrast was driving her nerves crazy, and she found that she was enjoying it quite a bit. Ren pulled back from the spot he was suckling on her navel, leaving a small red spot a little to the right of her bellybutton. He preened slightly as he traced the tiny mark on her, then began kissing her body all over again, inching her pants down and kissing ever new centimeter of exposed skin. Kyoko lifted her hips in assistance, chewing her lip as she felt the cold but eager to feel what else he would grant her. There was a mixture of relief and frustration as he stopped half way down her thighs, the feeling vanishing when he pressed her legs upward and dove his head in to begin tasting her.

"Tsuruga-san, that's embarrassing!" Kyoko whined out despite pleasure lacing her tone. Dark eyes peered up at her from between her legs, heavy and needy as he emperor gazed at her. She could feel her pleasure rising just from that look, whimpering pitifully as he pulled his lips from her.

"What was that? Who are you calling?" He asked darkly as he glided his thumb over her slit.

"Re~n!" She whined and covered her face with her hands. A deep chuckle rose from the man as he dove back down, happy to give his girlfriend the pleasure she so deserved.

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* * *

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Ren heaved a slow sigh as he interlinked his fingers and rested his elbows on his knees. In the seat across from him, Lory quietly puffed at his cigar, allowing the man to absorb the information and think things through.

"Both of them?" The young man clarified for the third time. Lory gave a soft hum of confirmation as he tapped the ash from the end of his cigar into a fancy dish. His outfit looked to have some sort of sailor theme to it or something today.

"Will you be alright?" Lory asked, watching Ren carefully. The actor nodded slowly before slowly growing more confident.

"Yeah, I mean..., It's not the end of the world even if they can't behave themselves entirely. I'm mostly concerned about mother, of course... for various reasons." Lory gave another hum of agreement. "And they definitely cannot know about my plans for proposal just yet." The older man looked away as he pouted slightly.

"I feel the need to object due to my old friendship with Kuu, but I can't say I don't understand. Jullie isn't the best at hiding her emotions, especially when she's upset or excited, and Kuu can't keep anything from her to save his own life."

"Exactly..., I also wonder if I should warn Kyoko about mother." Ren heaved another sigh as he slumped forward to hang his head.

"Ah..., I wouldn't worry about it so much. I think they'll find they have a lot of common interests." Lory consoled. Ren looked up at him skeptically. "Obviously they have a lot of differences, namely their skill sets, but they both have a fondness for magical stories and all things pretty and frilly."

"Aren't you talking about yourself?"

"I'm sure Kyoko will be just fine. She's a strong and capable young woman. She's not the one I worry about constantly." Ren pouted with quiet offence.

"Do you really see me as so fragile?"

"Mm... indeed." Lory nodded solemnly and Ren sighed with a roll of his eyes.

"Whatever, just tell me when to expect them." he urged, glancing at his phone to check the time.

"They're expected to arrive at the airport around midnight tomorrow night. Apparently they're going for something a little more discrete this time around. I suppose there's no need for a flashy arrival when they're not trying to get a rebellious son to pay attention to them. I can't be sure when they might try to contact you, but i would imagine it'll be some time the following afternoon." Lory speculated before snuffing out his cigar. "I can see you're a bit pressed for time, so I'll let you go here. Good look out there, boy." he dismissed fondly. Ren gave a bow and a soft word of thanks before taking his leave. He really hoped things went well when Kyoko and his parents inevitably met. She already got along great with his father, but... his mother could be quite the handful.

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 _Hello! Sorry it's one of my shorter chapters, and after such a long wait at that. I've been taking some time away from the internet lately, only really getting on to check up on things and catch up on personal reading for other story updates. I admittedly started to think that no one would notice if I just... slipped away hahaha. Does anyone other that Erza still read this? It doesn't really line up with canon well anymore, sadly, though I like to think everyone is still mostly in character..._

 _It's a bit late, but here's my responses to last chapter's comments:_

 _MWEH - Haha, yes! It was a lot of fun writing the little chaos that ensued between Ren, Yashiro, and Kyoko. Nosy managers require updates, but reserved girlfriend don't like like. Poor Ren has to really tread carefully on that thin line._

 _Kaname671 - Kaomi is a really fun person to write, but also a bit complex. She has a lot of qualities I borrowed from my own older sister, so it doesn't surprise me that people like her. She was always the one bringing friends home and getting invited to all kinds of stuff. Meanwhile, my older brother and I acted like we were hunting milk cartons in the back yard like a couple of savages hahaha. I enjoyed getting into the dynamic of a couple of actual siblings (not the heel siblings), but I'm definitely happy to have that little bot over and done with. I hope you stick around for future chapters and continue to enjoy this project._

 _I'm going to be straight up away from any kind of internet connection for at least a couple weeks after this, so I'm sorry in advance for leaving people hanging again, though people are probably already starting to expect it. Sorry about that._

 _Thank you for reading, and see you soon... maybe._


	19. Chapter 19

_Yo peeps, I'm back from solitude. Are you happy to see me? No? Oh well._

 _Kyoko is turning 18 soon and starting to get anxious for all the possibilities she may have to deepen her relationship with her boyfriend. Ren is trying to figure out how and when to propose to her. His parents are coming into town for the happy grateful party and how he also has to worry about that on top of all his planning. Lory is amused. Yashiro is excited. Ren is stressed. Kyoko is happy as can be._

 _enjoy_

* * *

"You're already hard" Kyoko observed as she pressed her hand into her boyfriend's crotch as they sat on his couch after a very long day. She looked so pleased that Ren almost felt guilty for objecting to her claim.

"I'm not." She looked up at him skeptically as she felt on his crotch more.

"Not all the way, but like... half way." she insisted, frowning when he shook his head.

"No, I'm really not." he denied. Admittedly, having her fondle him so eagerly was getting him a little excited, but he was still feeling so exhausted mentally and physically from his day that he really didn't have the energy to get a real erection right that minute.

"I can feel it!" Kyoko insisted with a roll of her palm. "You're semi-hard!"

"I'm not hard. That's just how tall I am." Ren claimed. A pregnant pause stretched between them as Kyoko eyed her boyfriend, watching as he turned his head away. She rose her eyebrows and leaned in, an amused smirk pulling at her lips.

"Did you just say 'tall'?"

"I meant big. That's just how big I am." he corrected in a mutter. Kyoko leaned over him to put herself back into his line of vision, consequently ending up in his lap as her grin stretched so large that her eyes were crinkling in the corners.

"Are you tall, Kuon?" she cooed teasingly. Ren quietly pouted in defense. Kyoko giggled mischievously as she ran her hand up his chest, past his neck, and into his hair, tangling her fingers there as she leaned in and gave a little nibble on his ear lobe. "Would you like me to make you... taller?" she teased. Ren let out a long groan.

"Kyoko, I'm exhausted today. Why are you being so mean?" He whined. His girlfriend was so cute and sexy, but right now it was just making him feel a bit smothered and overwhelmed. Kyoko pulled back and looked him over curiously. He really did look worn out, she realized with a bit of concern.

"I just... I wasn't intending to be mean. Usually you get a little more energized with these things, even when you've had a long day." she started to slide out of his lap but he stopped her easily with one firm hand on her hip.

"I do appreciate it. I just need some time to wind down a little." he admits, looking to her pleadingly. Kyoko considered his pitiful expression for a moment before contemplating how to help him. He wasn't really in the mood for sexy things, at least for the moment, and he wanted to wind down. What did he usually do to wind down?

"Is there anything I can do to help?" she asked hopefully. Ren smiled and huffed out a tiny laugh as he reached up and brushed a strand of hair out of her face.

"You're already helping me plenty just like this." he stated smoothly before blinking rapidly a few times. "But..., I think I'd like to get these contacts out soon. They can get pretty dry after a long time." The hours seemed to drag on today, and Ren had been especially active for his jobs throughout. Kyoko hopped up from his lap and giggled as she saw the flash of disappointment in his gaze.

"Go take care of your eyes. I'll pour you a drink to help you wind down." she urged while pulling his arms to help him off the couch. Ren almost objected but ultimately decided to smile and let her help him. She was obviously enjoying herself after all. The term 'happy wife, happy life' came to mind, leaving the man smiling a goofy grin as he headed to the bathroom. He always thought it was referring to the desire for peace that was impossible when said wife was upset over something. They might not be married yet -hopefully she accepted him when the time came- but he already felt like they had a special connection that could only be achieved from an intimate and private relationship. When she was happy like this... he just felt happy by extension somehow. His home felt warmer and more relaxing as a whole.

Returning to the main room, he found Kyoko sipping on a hot tea, scrolling through her phone as a glass of whisky sat on the coffee table The drink didn't even look all that interesting next to her. Walking over and silently sitting on the couch next to her, he idly sipped at his drink as he watched her. She peeked over at his hand as he set down his drink, startling slightly and apparently having not heard him return. He relaxed further as he laughed at how cute she was, getting a furious little pout in response.

"You're always laughing at me."

"You're always cute." he retorts instantly, smiling at the adorable blush slowly filling her cheeks.

"You've _always_ laughed at me."

"You've _always_ been cute."

"Liar."

"Not about this." she fell silent again and pouted as she scrolled through her phone again, drawing a curious gaze from the man. "What are you looking at anyway?" he finally asked.

"Ways to help a man relax after a hard day." she muttered out with a blush. Ren tilted his head curiously as he waited for her to elaborate. "Am I..." she paused and chewed her lip nervously for a moment as she set her phone down, "am I qualified to help you?"

"What? Why wouldn't you?" What exactly was she reading that got her asking that kind of question?

"Well..., these seem to mostly be geared toward... wives." she shifted her gaze away timidly and Ren smiled after her.

"I don't see any problem with that." He stated cheerfully. Kyoko snapped her head back to look at him, amber eyes blowing wide as her blush darkened. "For one, being there after a man comes home is mostly going to be due to you living together, so it makes sense for it to mostly be geared toward married couples." he shrugged nonchalantly. Kyoko lowered her gaze timidly.

"I... guess that makes sense."

"And I've already told you my intentions for our future. Even if we aren't married now, I'd like to be some day. I wouldn't waste your time with an empty relationship, Kyoko." She fidgeted and fiddled with her hands timidly, growing shy all over again. Ren smiled fondly as he watched her. She decidedly snatched up her phone again, typing quickly.

"R-right. I... I knew that."

He was happy that she at least didn't seem opposed to the idea. He would need to wait until Kotonami-san talked with Kyoko about how soon would be too fast, though. He wouldn't be all that surprised if she felt getting engaged before dating for a number of years was just reckless and unacceptable. Even with logically understanding that, he would still take a sizable amount of damage should she reject him. It was best to gather more information first.

Now that Kyoko was giving him more space and helped him relax, he was feeling a bit longing for her company, the man pouting as he took note of the distance between them. Was she not going to try and seduce him again? But it really had been nice for her to take the initiate earlier, even if he wasn't feeling up for anything super intimate. He suddenly wanted to kick his earlier self for not accepting it, even though he knew it wouldn't have had the desired effect due to the state he had been in. He was only feel so much better and more energetic due to all of Kyoko's hard work. So frustrating.

"We should get ready for bed soon." Kyoko sighed as she locked up her phone and slowly stood, stretching with her arms above her head. Even that movement was cute and sexy. "Even if we don't have as busy a day tomorrow, you mentioned that your parents were probably going to want to see us, and I think we would both like to be refreshed and well-rested for that." she reasoned. Ren eagerly jumped at the opportunity.

"Want to take a bath with me, then?" he asked eagerly. Kyoko blinked in surprise at him before giggling.

"Feeling better I'm guessing?"

"Thanks to you." Ren responded with a bright smile.

Ren was even more playful during bath time than usual. Kyoko had to scold him a few times, but she was always giggling through it so Ren didn't feel all that deterred, grinning wildly as he acted simultaneously like a little kid and a lecherous man. Kyoko found that she didn't mind him doing things like this every now and then, and he was still being gentlemanly enough not to be too invasive.

"Are you happy to see me, or are you just that tall?" Kyoko teased as she felt him through his pajama bottoms, giggling so hard that her body shook as Ren pouted up at her.

"You're never going to let that go, are you?"

"Never."

"They have similar meanings in english!" he defended. Kyoko hummed lightly and rolled him around under her hand. He was _definitely_ hard this time.

"I'm sure you'll have plenty of times you can make fun of my english in the future." she consoled before wiggling her hand under his waistband and gripping his shaft firmly. Yep, definitely hard. She pumped it a couple times and enjoyed watching him squirm slightly.

"Still," Ren groaned out softly, "You could stand to cut back on the teasing just a little."

"I will... eventually." Kyoko promised, smirking as she pushed his manhood so that it slipped out the fly. She was happy he didn't bother to wear underwear under pajama bottoms. It would have been annoying to thread it between both barriers. She looked down and played with the piece joyfully, amused by the conflicted groan coming from the man at her teasing. "Maybe I should name it 'Tall Man'." she joked.

"Please don't."

"Why? I think it suits you. I would say you're 'Tall Man' and he's 'Short Man', but that would make it seem like it's short. I talked to Moko-san about it. You're not short." Ren looked to her with a baffled look before sighing and running a hand down his face.

"Okay, I'm going to ignore the fact that you talked about the size of my equipment to your friend for the time being. Did you know there's a monster called the 'Tall Man' from an old film?" Kyoko paused her fiddling with him to perk up in curiosity. "It's... kind of similar to the BJ character I played, but a lot more supernatural and with more... zombie-like themes. We can watch the movie together some time if you want, but _please_ do not nickname me or my privates that." He begged. Kyoko snickered and nodded her understanding as she started to swirl her finger around his manhood.

"How about Godzilla?"

"Now you're just trying to make fun of me again."

"Nonsense, I never stopped." Kyoko laughed, gaining a drawn-out sigh from the man. She could tell he was actually starting to get kind of irritated, so she slipped down quickly and took him in her mouth, holding back a grin at his resulting jolt.

"Hey, what are you trying to-" Ren cut himself off with a deep groan as she bobbed and sucked, his hands fisting into the bed sheets. She had gotten really good at this, drooling heavily on his member as she went to town without a worry of how messy it was getting. "Kyoko" he moaned her name in pleasure, encouraging the girl further. A loud knocking sounded on his front door and they both froze. Kyoko slowly pulled away with a soft *pop*, looking to where the noise had come from before looking back to him. Ren did not look pleased.

"It's... a bit late at night for it to be just anything. Do you think it's important?" She asked timidly. Her boyfriend glanced to her and considered ignoring the disturbance, but then the knocking came again and he heaved a great sigh, sliding out of bed and tucking his sizable erection back in his pants. Kyoko timidly trotted after him, peaking out the bedroom door as her boyfriend answer the knocking. Her eyes blew wide as a beautiful woman launched herself at him so hard that he stumbled backward a few steps.

 **"My Kuon!"**

 **"M-mother? What are you doing here at this hour?"** Kuon asked in surprise, hiding his privates when the woman glanced down then looked back up at him with a raised eyebrow. Kyoko quietly shrunk back into the room, looking around quickly. This... looked really bad. This was not the kind of first impression she wanted to have with her boyfriend's mother!

 **"I guess you're a healthy man after all."** The woman sighed and shook her head before waving it away. **"Anyway, of course I would want to come see my baby as soon as I get the chance. I thought that kidnapper would have told you. It figures that he would try to keep you from your mother as much as possible."**

 **"No, mother, you really need to stop calling Lory-"**

 **"And your father! Can you believe him? 'Wait till tomorrow', he says! How ridiculous! Why should I wait so long when I could die any second!"** She blabbered on as she shed her coat. Ren released a soft sigh and glanced back at his room, wondering how Kyoko was going to react to this. No doubt she would not see this as an ideal time to meet his mother.

 **"He was probably being mindful of the fact that I need to be asleep at this hour."** he explained. Jullie gasped and quickly placed her hands to her lips as her eyes watered.

 **"You... you... you don't want to see me?"**

 **"No, mother-"**

 **"I'll be dead tomorrow, and you don't even care!"** she wailed and turned away quickly, her face in her hands.

 **"Mother please, you know that isn't true."** the man reasoned desperately. **"I'm just not prepared at the moment."**

 **"Prepared? Since when do you have to prepare for your mother to see you?"**

 **"Well, not being surprised by her busting in and hugging me when I have a boner would be nice."** he stated, gesturing a bit crudely to his privates. Jullie glanced down again before pouting up at him. With a huff, she slipped her jacket back on and turned away.

 **"I suppose you have a point. I'll see you in the morning, darling. Mommy loves you."** she grumbled with a pout. Did... did he actually just win an argument against his mother? He didn't really feel all that victorious due to the humiliation he had to take on for that victory, though.

 **"Wait, mom! Let me walk you back to your hotel or something."** he requested quickly only to be waved off.

 **"Nonsense, your father is undoubtedly already on his way to fetch me as soon as he realizes I'm missing. Besides, you can't go out in that appearance, and I'm sure he'll be here before you fix yourself up."** she waved her hand around and Ren looked down at himself. True, he was in his pajamas, but that wouldn't take very long for him to change. It wasn't until Jullie pointed to her eyes that recognition dawned on him that he had answered the door without putting his colored contacts back in. His mother smiled and reached up, combing her fingers through his hair a few times.

 **"I miss you having your fine light hair like mine, but I suppose this looks good on you too. I still don't care for that character you hide behind, though. I only want my Kuon, not some strange man I don't know."** she huffed with a cross of her arms. He smiled down at her uneasily.

 **"Ren is a part of who I am too, mother."** he reasoned softly. She peeked back at him uncertainly before pulling him into a hug.

 **"Alright, I think I understand. My baby boy really has grown so much while I wasn't looking."** she cried. The man gently pat her on the head, glancing back at his bedroom door. He would have expected Kyoko to come peeking out to see what was going on by now. Was she intentionally giving him space with his mother? Well, he supposed this wouldn't really be an ideal time to introduce them either.

It wasn't long before Kuu came rushing up, the man looking a bit baffled at finding his son consoling Jullie and coaxing her to just hold on until morning.

"Before you go, dad," Kuon called, causing the man to look back at him curiously in the middle of guiding Jullie away, "Could you make sure to call before you guys come? Kyoko likes to make sure I have breakfast in the mornings and I don't want her to go into a frenzy trying to feed your voracious appetite last-minute." He explained. Kuu and Jullie both turned on him with sneaky looks on their faces.

"You best be treating her right, boy." Kuu warned lightheartedly. He trusted his son to be a good man, but he couldn't help feeling a little protective of the girl even then. Jullie cupped her hand and whispered to Kuu, still looking at Ren with that sneaky look in her eyes. Kuu's lips quirked downward slightly as his eyes shifted between Ren and into the apartment behind him.

 **"If you're gossiping about my state when you _barged in_ earlier, that is far from incriminating evidence."** Ren stated with a defensive cross of his arms.

 **"Watch how you talk to your mother."** Kuu scolded. Ren sighed and ran a hand down his face as he rolled his eyes. He had almost forgotten why he never introduced girlfriends to his parents in the past, aside from the fact that they never lasted long enough to actually get the chance. Parents were so embarrassing and mildly annoying, no matter how old you got. "But of course I'll give you a call. I'll make sure to eat before coming over as well. There's no need to have my future daughter overworking herself when she's already so busy." Ren stiffened before he could remember to hide it, internally groaning at the glint of recognition in both his parent's eyes. "You're already-"

"We've discussed the possibility." Ren clarified quickly, a little weary of their sharp gazes. Kuu pouted while Julie simply looked pleased.

"Well, I suppose it will take time for that girl to fully heal. I don't know much about her circumstances, but I know enough to be aware that she's struggled with Lorry's favorite emotion." he admitted. Ren nodded solemnly as Jullie pouted at the mention of his supposed 'kidnapper'. Her bad relationship with the company president would probably need to be fixed a bit before the grateful party. He really didn't want Kyoko having to deal with the drama between people that were supposedly adults, elders even.

Ren heaved a sigh as he said a final goodbye and shut the door, walking back into the bedroom and pausing as he looked around and didn't find Kyoko. Confused, he checked the bathroom but didn't find her. She wasn't under the bed either. Going to the closet, he found her crouched in the corner, slightly hidden by some of his suits.

"What are you doing?" he chuckled as he gazed down at the timid little animal before him. Kyoko peeked up at him, wide-eyed and oh so adorable in the midst of all her oddities.

"I didn't want your parents to see me and... and this situation looks really bad..." she mumbled out, averting her gaze. Ren slowly crouched down before her, smiling softly as a means of encouragement.

"They wouldn't think less of you for it, you know. If anything, father would probably call me a fiend. I'm pretty sure they suspect you're here already, though they have no proof and we can easily say you came over in the morning or slept in the guest room if it makes you feel better. Father warned me that I better treat you right, you know." Kyoko looked up at him in surprise at that before chewing on her lip as she considered her options.

"It... wouldn't feel right to lie to them as soon as I'm meeting my boyfriend's parents officially for the first time. I think... I should probably sleep in the guest bedroom tonight." she suggested, though she didn't seem any more pleased with the thought than him. Ren nodded his understanding and reached out a hand in offer, helping her up and out of her little hiding spot.

"If that's what you want, I won't object." he promised and planted a single kiss on top of her head.

Kyoko did actually go to the other room. The bed still held lingering traces of her warmth and scent, the man hugging her pillow as he tried to get to sleep. It was difficult without her actual presence, but he managed. He was vaguely aware of her slipping into his bed later, but he had no idea how long it had been and he didn't bother to glance at the clock. He was just happy that she returned to him.

* * *

 _"Tall Man" was a fictional character created in 1979 by "Don Cascarelli" for the horror series "Phantasm". Most everyone know about "Slenderman" these days, which was actually inspired by this character. Fun stuff all around. I hope this is good enough for citing._

 _I know there's not a lot of "girl talk" in this one aside from a brief mention of Kyoko's discussions with Kanae, but fear not, there will be plenty of girls being cute together in the next chapter. Also, every man has had a girlfriend try to nickname his dick strange things at least once. I don't know what it is, but girls really like coming up with cringy names for them. It's a little funny, I admit, but only because they never stick too long._

 _I was surprised how many people responded to my last chapter, and so quickly too! I got so many emails and read through them on the 20hr drive I had just to get to the location for my vacation (I was only a passenger, don't worry)._

 _exorsiska- Thank you so much for reading and enjoying my work. I read every review and look back at them all the time, even if I don't always have a direct response for someone._

 _As always, thank you to everyone that favorited, followed, and commented and I hope to see you all in future chapters._


	20. Chapter 20

_Fair warning, I wrote this whole chapter on my phone. I appoligize in advance for any errors you may come across and happily welcome corrections._

 _Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays_

 _Summary: Kyoko's birthday is drawing near, and Kuon's parents have come into town so as to celebrate and attend her grateful party. After a short initial shock of Jullie Hizuri paying a quick visit the night before, Ren and Kyoko are now preparing to meet with the Hizuri parents on top of all their work and the planning for the party. Kuon is fretting over his desire to propose to Kyoko. Kyoko's worrying over the implications of her eighteenth birthday. Lory is... being Lory._

 _enjoy_

* * *

Kyoko groaned softly as she sat upon the porcelain throne. Around her angles were her ruined panties, an ugly red spot marring their soft blue color. These had been one of her favorites. She would need to wash them quickly if she wanted to ensure they didn't stain, but first she needed to take care of the issue at hand.

"At least I know I'm not pregnant." She grumbled to herself softly. She had honestly been worried ever since Ren mentioned her being slightly off schedule from usual. Despite all her certainty that this was a normal occurrence, that she wasn't always _right_ on time, there still had been that tiny worry of _'what if, by some miraculous twist of fate...'_ It was a relief to know that no such miracle had occurred.

Luckily, she had anticipated the possibility due to Ren's subtle mention just the other day, but unfortunately she had failed to actually put any precautions into place before slipping into the man's bed last night. She simultaneously cursed and thanked the gods for allowing her to wake early in the morning due to the discomfort in her gut. At least she didn't have to face the embarrassment of her boyfriend witnessing her in such a state. Now she just needed to sneak past his slumbering form and grab her overnight bag without making too much of a commotion.

She shuffled quietly through the dark bedroom, feeling along the floor for her bag with her toes before quickly snatching it up and booking it back to the bathroom. As soon as the door was shut and locked again, she flipped the light back on with a relieved sigh, another coming soon after as she found her spare underwear and toiletries in their proper place. All good. Mission successful.

...

Ren lay in bed quietly for a moment, staring up at the ceiling. His arms were empty, but he could have sworn Kyoko had crept back into his bed last night at some point. Did she return to the guest bedroom before he woke up? He rolled onto his side and stared at his closed door, pouting quietly at it. He wondered if she would get upset if he slipped into the guest bed with her instead. Probably. She had been the one to leave, after all. Scratching at his head with a heavy sigh, he pulled himself to sit up and slip out of bed, padding over to the door with the intention to maybe start a coffee and read over his scripts for the day. He paused as he heard the sound of movement in the kitchen. She was already up? That was... new.

He continued his journey to the kitchen, peeking in and smiling as he found her reading over a script as she mindlessly tended to something on the stove. His body warmed with affection at the sight. She only startled a little as he snuck up behind her, slid his arms around her waist, and propped his chin on her shoulder. He had to hunch his body but didn't mind it for the opportunity to be so close and cuddly with her.

"You're up early." he mentioned, ducking his head to yawn against her shoulder. She looked to the side, observing him in the corner of her eye for a moment before craning her neck. He shifted forward the rest of the way to grant her a soft yet sleepy kiss.

"I'm not that early. You were just really restless last night so you woke up later than usual."

"Ah, so the little goddess in my bed last night wasn't just hopeful dreaming." he stated merrily. Kyoko blushed and turned back to her work on the stove.

"Flatterer..." she grumbled. He responded by peppering kisses all over the crown of her head. "In any case, you were still restless even in the morning, so I tried to let you sleep for a bit longer at least." She explained. She smiled shyly as she recalled how he had relaxed so easily just from a few passing pats on the head. It was nice to know that she could ease his troubles even that little bit, even when he wasn't conscious and able to fully appreciate her efforts. "You were quite cute, though. You settle down so quickly just from a few little touches and whispers." She teased lightly, peeking over at him to see his reaction.

Ren shifted his gaze away from her, his lips pursed slightly as he failed to come up with a retort. Dropping the topic completely, he made his way over to the cabinets with his supplies for making coffee.

"Mother and father will be coming over this morning. Father said he'll eat before coming, though." He explained, not sure if he had mentioned it at all before they went to bed last night. Kyoko tensed up slightly but continued to work on breakfast.

"Your... both of them, right?" She clarified softly. Ren let out a soft hum as he nodded in confirmation, watching Kyoko with a bit of worry. He knew she was nervous about meeting his mother. Hell, he was nervous too. He had no idea how it would play out. He liked to think they would get along, but his mother was so dramatic and sensitive and Kyoko... well she had her moments like that as well. He wondered if that had been what Lory meant when he said Kyoko and Jullie had a lot in common. He really hoped that wasn't the extent of it. Things could get really hectic if two people like that clashed unfavorably. He wanted Kyoko to see his mother as her own, or at least a mother figure she could turn to for motherly things or something. He wasn't entirely sure what that entailed, but mothers and daughters interacted differently than fathers and daughters... right? On top of that, it wouldn't be good for Kyoko to only be close to his father, and he wanted more caring people in Kyoko's life. She deserved to have good people looking out for her. She deserved that happiness far more than him, and he was eager to be the one bringing such people into her life.

"Do you know what time we should be expecting them?" Kyoko asked, bringing him out of his reverie. "Do they even know what our schedule is? I'd hate to head out before we can even greet them." she mused. Ren took a moment to sip on his coffee as he tried to sort through his thoughts.

"I'm sure father likely asked President Lory about it. As eccentric as those two are, they are at least sensible to a certain extent."

"Ah, I suppose that's true. I was actually surprised when he didn't tell you about my feelings back then."

"He laughed at me when he found out about my feelings for you... Wait," Ren turned to look at her with a confused frown, "When was 'back then'? That sounds like it was a while ago." Kyoko shifted her eyes away as her lips pursed shut in a quiet pout.

"We've been dating for a few months now, already." She diverted slightly. Ren narrowed his eyes at her as he set his coffee down a bit heavily, rising from his chair before destroying the distance between them in favor of looming over her.

"When did you start to like me? Now that I recall, you hated me quite thoroughly before, so much so that you couldn't even answer when I asked about it."

"W-Wha-? Why are you remembering such things?"

"Of course I'll remember a moment that stung me so painfully."

"Painful?" Kyoko echoed with disbelief, placing her hands on her hips firmly. "How could such a thing be painful at that time? As I recall, you were also not fond of me."

"Not true. I was fond of you."

"You bullied me!"

"So? People can bully someone they're fond of. President Lory often shows his affection in such ways. Your friend Kotonami-san also has a similar habit." he pointed out promptly. Kyoko stammered for a moment as she tried to find a good argument.

"That...! That is completely different! You were quite clear in your distaste for me."

"I found distaste in your motives for show business, something that has already become cleared up and irrelevant. I was quite fond of the memories of you from when we were young, though."

"Ha! You can't love someone just for their memories. People change a lot after ten years apart, you know." Kyoko argued before quickly skirting around him to get out of his looming shadow. She needed to get breakfast prepared and eaten soon if they wanted to keep from being rude when his parents decided to arrive. She wasn't surprised when he persistently followed after her to the stove, but it still irked her somehow.

"I think I understand such things much more thoroughly than you." Ren challenged. Kyoko glared back at him before huffing and turning back to her work on breakfast. Even if she understood what he meant by that, she felt annoyed to hear it. Somehow, it felt as though he was belittling all her struggles and changes over the past several years.

"In any case. You can't be in love with me for some brief memories from so long ago. If that's your basis for affections, then your feelings are actually quite shallow." she huffed as she worked on making an omelette. She felt her irritation rising as her boyfriend wrapped his arms around her middle again. How dare he be affectionate when she's feeling so irritable!

"Even I wouldn't be so naive to think so simply on my feelings." the man grumbled unhappily. Kyoko paused at the soft and somewhat hurt tone in his voice, peeking over her shoulder at him and finding a tiny frown on his lips. She chewed the corner of her lip for a moment as she considered him, stewing over a proper response.

"So then, why would you fall for me? Was my seduction simply that good?" Ren let out something between a cough and a laugh as he question caught him off guard, his arms tightening around her slightly as his hung his head against her shoulder and began shaking with laughter. Kyoko pouted before silently returning to her work on the stove.

"I fell in love with you for various reasons, some of which I'm still discovering. I guess if I had to pinpoint what started it all..., maybe your kindness and honesty? You're a hard worker, and you cared for me even when I was irritating. Also, you're super cute when you get excited about things, especially acting." Kyoko could feel her face heating up more and more by the second. "I really wanted to kiss you that time on the kitchen floor."

"WHAT?" Kyoko yelped and pulled back from the stove as she accidentally slipped and caught the side of her hand on the hot pan, stuck in a daze as Ren quickly pulled her to the sink to run cold water over it. It wasn't even all that bad, yet he fretted and scolded her as he stared at her hand with a determined look, as if that was all it would take to make it better.

"I need to turn off the stove of the omelette will burn." she stated softly as she looked back at the stove. Ren slowly pulled away from her before pointing in determination at the still running faucet.

"I'll get it. You keep your hand under the water." he ordered before heading over to finish the breakfast, obediently listening to Kyoko's instructions as she switch from running water to a small ice pack on her hand. It likely wouldn't even leave a mark, but he was adamant that she be careful about it.

They were sitting down to eat in silence as Kyoko poked at her food, glancing at her boyfriend as he started to dig in. One side of the omelette was slightly too brown, but it was still really good. It was strangely endearing in its own way, knowing it was the result of her lover helping and taking care of her.

"So..., you liked me since back then?" Actually, now that she thought about it, his job as Katsuki had been when he was going through his discovery of love. If she really was the only one he's ever loved, and he came to understand love at that time, didn't that mean he had loved her since then? She poked at her food timidly as she came to fully consider such things.

"At the very least, yes. Lory seems to think our meeting as children was 'true love fate' or 'love at first sight', which I can't say if I believe or not, but I do think I was at least fond of you since then. After all, it is a fact that I felt more sympathy toward you after discovering that you were the same girl from my childhood. I think I would have fallen in love with you even without that, though." He shrugged it off as if it were nothing, but Kyoko couldn't help letting the words tumble around in her head, warming her cheeks all over again as she stuffed egg into her mouth.

 _'This guy can say such smooth things in a carefree way.'_ She thought irritably. "Playboy." she grumbled under her breath.

"You're still saying that?"

"All smooth talkers are playboys. You just want to make hearts go 'doki-doki' all day." She grumbled out before starting to shovel food into her mouth with vigor, as if signalling that the conversation was over. Ren pouted as he ate at a more leisurely pace, practically nibbling on his food in comparison.

"The only 'doki-doki' I truly care about is yours, though."

"idiot."

"I'm your idiot." he responded cheerfully, gaining a sigh of defeat from his girlfriend.

Ren smiled in victory and started to eat his food more enthusiastically when his phone chimed. Checking it, he slid it over to Kyoko to let her see the message as he finished off his meal quickly, watching as she instantly went into a small cleaning frenzy around the kitchen. As soon as his plate was clear, it was snatched up, cleaned, and put away. It was heart-warming to see her going about his place as though it were her own, cleaning it as though she were partially responsible for every little mess or misplaced item.

 _'Why aren't we living together yet, again?'_ Ren wondered as he watched his girlfriend zip off to his bedroom, making the bed quickly before running off to clean up the guest bedroom as well, then darting past with an arm full of bed-sheets to be cleaned, apparently having decided to change the linen. She came back to fidget with the couch cushions, then ran off to clean the kitchen some more or something. Meanwhile, Ren was left standing in place as he watched the young woman run this way and that. He did try helping, but then he was scolded for doing it wrong and she ended up redoing his work. He decided it was probably best to just let her do as she pleased until she calmed down.

Kyoko seemed to be contemplating rearranging the furniture when the knock finally sounded at the front door. Ren wasn't sure if he was relieved or if he would have liked to see how she would shift his living-room around, considering the thought of encouraging such a thing as he went to greet his parents. Jullie was eagerly waiting to pounce as soon as he opened the door, greeting him almost as enthusiastically as she had last night.

Kyoko took several deep breaths, hardly even registering the sound of greetings coming from the front door.

"How's my other son?" Kuu's boisterous voice had Kyoko snapping to attention, her body relaxing slowly as she found herself faced with the older man approaching with open arms. She timidly accepted the embrace. Kuu eagerly wrapped her in his arms, leaving her feeling totally enveloped in his comfort and fatherly affection.

"H-hey otou-san. It's nice to see you again." She greeted with a soft giggle in her tone. He gave one last squeeze before releasing her and ruffling her hair. Kyoko bat away his hands as more giggles bubbled up in her chest.

"I'd like to introduce you to my wife," he started eagerly, stepping to the side and directing her attention to behind him, "Julie Hizuri. The woman Kyoko was faced with was breathtakingly beautiful. Long golden hair cascaded down in perfect waves, framing her small face and perfect makeup. Her shapely figure was the very definition of Sho's desires, the definition of what she had grown up understanding as beautiful. _'How am I supposed to face that?'_ She wondered with dread. If Kuon had grown up with _that_ as his mother, how could he possibly see someone like her as good enough?

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Hizuri-sama." Kyoko greeted with a deep bow. Straighting again with hopes that she was making a good impression, ice chilled her from deep inside as she saw a too-bright smile on the woman's face.

"Nice to meet you... Mogami-san."

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"And she gave me that glittering smile, the one Tsuruga-san always gave back when he hated me! I knew this wouldn't end well. Hizuri-sama really hates me. I thought maybe she wouldn't be all that pleased with me, but I hadn't expected it to be _this_ bad!" Kyoko cried in dismay. She had just recounted her experience from meeting Kuon's parents that morning, her best friend patiently sipping tea throughout the tale.

"Well, it's normal for the parents not to get along with you're significant other, right?" Kanae reasoned. "You hear about it all the time. The girl's father doesn't get along with her boyfriend, or the boy's mother doesn't get along with his girlfriend, something like that. It's a well-known situation, I think."

"But... but why?" Kyoko cried into her couch pillow as Kanae sighed. She hadn't really been expecting a sleepover tonight, but Kyoko seemed desperate so she had agreed to come over for the night. She didn't really know what to tell Kyoko, though.

"Well, she dotes on Kuon-san a lot, right? Not only is she an obsessive parent, but he seems to be an only child. Isn't it like a mother hen worrying over her only baby chick or something? Or maybe jealousy because he doesn't pay attention to her anymore. She probably holds onto memories when he was little and came rushing up to her for every little exciting thing, but now you're the one getting all that attention." Kyoko perked up at that, tapping a fist into her open palm excitedly.

"That's it! I just need to make sure Kuon shows proper affection to his mother." She concludes before snatching up her phone and typing out a quick text to him. Kanae watched with quiet uncertainty for a moment before speaking up.

"I doubt there could be any issue, seeing as that guy is already aware of all your oddities, but do you really think it's a good idea to go demanding he act a certain way with his mother? Won't that be a bit strange?" Kyoko paused in her fervent texting before heaving a sigh and regretfully deleting what she had written. Really, what a difficult predicament. Isn't there anything she could do to assure Kuon's mother that she wasn't trying to infringe on her territory? Or... was she? She supposed there was the fact that he was spending time with her instead of back home with his mother. But that wasn't her fault!

"Could it be that she already knows about you two discussing the possibility of marriage?"

"Eh?" Kyoko snapped her head up in attention, staring at Kanae with shock. "But... that's still just discussion! It's not like we're already engaged or anything. Besides... I don't see how that would make her unhappy?" Kanae pursed her lips as she mentally flipped through her options.

"It could be that he's already talking about it seriously with his parents. Usually the parents are the first to be contacted about the possibility, after all. And if you two do get married, wouldn't that mean that one of you will have to move?" the older girl watched as Kyoko's expression slowly shifted from confused to startled. She had somewhat suspected Kyoko hadn't given it much thought before, but she still felt a bit exasperated to have her suspicions confirmed.

"I... somehow I forgot that his home is actually in America! Wha- what should I do? Will this be okay? Will this work out? Ooh, but I'm already impure! If we don't actually get married, doesn't that mean I'll never be a bride?" Kyoko wailed in distress. Kanae groaned and rolled her head back with exhaustion.

"You're really old fashioned. Most people don't stay that pure these days." she groaned out. Kyoko pouted unhappily as she fiddled with a tiny thread in her couch cushion. She felt a little ashamed of how much she had been thinking of the possibility of sex after her birthday. They were going to have that conversation, but she could already tell that it will likely come down to whether or not she wanted to after Kuon's biggest concern -her age- was more appropriate for such a big decision.

"That's true... Kuon was already quite experienced before he left America." Kyoko sighed and hugged her pillow again. Kanae paused and stared at the ceiling before looking to Kyoko quickly.

"Wait, wasn't he only fourteen or fifteen when he came to japan?"

"Hmm? Yeah, that's right." Kyoko responded, looking a bit confused. Kanae wrinkled her nose at that, feeling a bit disturbed at the thought.

"If he was that experienced when he came to japan, he must have been doing such things in middle-school. That's actually pretty young, don't you think?"

"Well, he's said a few times that he had to grow up in an adult's world, so..." Kyoko frowned at how that sounded in context of the current conversation.

"I mean..., he probably had other kids his age growing up in the same environment," Kanae reasoned uncertainly, "But I don't think it would be too unbelievable that he may have been taken advantage of by someone older and more experienced. There are bad people hiding everywhere in the world after all." Kyoko nodded slowly in agreement.

"We'll have to make sure our children are properly protected from such things." The room fell into silence as the two girls ruminated on their thoughts.

"... Did you just say your children?" Kanae suddenly asked. Kyoko startled and turned bright red. She hadn't even realized! When had such a thought gotten into her head? Where had that come from?

"No! I... I meant the next generation! The children of the world!"

"Oh? You're going to protect the children of the world, then? Are you a superhero now?"

"Moko!" Kyoko whined and threw her pillow at the older girl. Kanae smiled as she easily caught it.

"I don't think it's bad for you to be thinking such things, you know. You've already said that it seems like a valuable life experience to have with someone. I think someone who views things in such a way would definitely be happy with something like that. You'll certainly be smarter about things than my family. Isn't it the duty of the intelligent to provide high-quality children for the next generation?"

"Stop making fun of meeeee!" Kyoko whined, throwing her whole body across the couch at her friend this time. Kanae only cackled as she watched Kyoko get so embarrassed. The girls rolled off the couch in a playful wrestle, giggling cheerfully only for a knock at the front door to cause them to pause. Kyoko blinked down at where she had her friend pinned to the ground, the two exchanging confused looks before they both got to their feet and went to answer the door together. Peeking out, there they found Aika pouting at the floor, currently wearing some comfy-looking winter pajamas.

"Hasegawa-san, hello. Were we perhaps too loud?" Kyoko asked sheepishly. Aika fiddled with her fingers awkwardly for a moment.

"It's fine, seeing as it let me know you were home. Could I maybe spend some time here for a little while?" she asked, glancing up at the two older girls with a pitiful look. Kyoko opened the door a bit wider as Kanae stepped out of the way, her eyebrows raising high with curiosity.

"Is everything alright, Hasegawa-san?" Kyoko asked with concern as she closed the door behind them. The younger girl nodded quietly.

"I just... needed to get out for a bit, but it's already late and... I guess I decided to give Kaomi some space or something."

"Space? Did you two fight again?" Kanae asked, sounding a bit bored, yet Kyoko could tell her friend wouldn't ask if she didn't actually care.

"Not... really. It's just..." Aika glanced to Kyoko, looking a bit contemplative as she started and stopped a few times. "Kyoko-senpai, that manager of yours is a good guy, right?" Kyoko and Kanae looked to each other in confusion. Where had that come from?

"I think so." Kyoko started slowly.

"He's reliable and always works hard." Kanae considered. She hadn't gotten a lot of interaction with the bespectacled man, but she could at least tell that much.

"And he looks out for people, though he's a bit excitable about things. I guess he's like President Lory in a lot of ways, but more sensible?" Kyoko concluded.

"I see..." Aika trailed off for a moment, picking at the hem of her pajama shirt.

"I'll go make more tea. Moko-er-Kanae-chan and I were just talking about trying out one of those home foot beauty kits we found the other day. Would you like to join us?" Kyoko offered even as she shuffled off to the kitchen. "Ooh! And we could invite Chiori-chan to join us as well!"

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"Nervous, Kyoko-chan?" Yashiro asked from the driver's seat. She was sitting up front in the passenger's seat lately due to her desire to quietly study driving until she could actually take the classes and such. She missed sitting in the back with her boyfriend a bit, but this also felt like it kept her a little more appropriate.

"I suppose a little. It's not like it's my first introduction for a new project, but I still feel a little anxious right before. I want to make a good impression, after all." It was at least helpful to have a manager at her side this time, and Ren had already wished her luck as Yashiro-san was dropping him off as well. Neither man had allowed her to object to the manager coming with her today, leaving her frustrated but quietly relieved.

She was practically bouncing as she hopped out of the car, beaming happily as she thanked a man for holding the door for her. She froze as she recognized Murasame, the man looking at her with a mixture of confusion and amusement.

"You comin' in, Miss?" He asked pleasantly.

"Everything alright Kyoko-chan?" Yashiro spoke up, causing the confusion to envelop Murasame's amusement completely.

"Kyoko-chan? _You_ are one of my costars?" He asked incredulously. Manager and talent faced him with identical frowns before Yashiro adjusted his glasses and cleared his throat.

"Let us get going, then." He stayed before ushering Kyoko inside and deliberately turning a cold shoulder to the young actor. Kyoko shuffled away quickly, gaze down and body tight with tension. This was turning out to be quite the stressful week.

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 _Sorry I've been away for so long. I've been thinking about this story a lot in my free time, but there have been a few higher priorities as of late. Please forgive me._

 _As always, I really apreatiate all your reviews. Thank you so much for reading. Happy holidays, and I'll see you next chapter!_


	21. Chapter 21

_Sometimes I look at this story and I can't help thinking there is an overwhelming amount of females in the cast. Then I remember that the main purpose I had when I started writing it was to experiment with creating more varying types of girls and figuring out how they would interact with each other. I've realized I have a tendency to make my characters too philosophical and accepting. If they're not, they tend to come off as illogical and impulsive with not enough settling in the center. I'm going to try and work on that a bit more._

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Kyoko and Kuon's relationship is going well. She's happy being with him and he's absolutely certain that he wants to marry her and start a life with her officially. As Kuon starts to make plans to propose, he's gotten Kanae on board to help assist him to plan the perfect event for it. In the mean time, Kyoko is planning her 'Happy grateful party' with Maria, and the Hizuri parents come into town so they can attend! All seems well until Kyoko meets Kuon's mother who appears to not like Kyoko much. How can she win over the mother of her boyfriend?

Enjoy

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"That will be all for today." the director announced cheerfully. Kyoko realeased a soft sigh of relief. She had been a bit nervous when she realized Murasame would be on this project with her, but it seemed he really didn't recognize her from her time as Setsu. Unfortunately, that did not make him much easier to deal with. He was still a very blunt and outspoken character, unafraid of speaking his mind. She steeled her nerves as she stood, mentally telling herself that even Murasame-san can't cow her. She is a head-strong person too!

"Um, excuse me for a moment!" Kyoko called out with a deep bow as the other members of the project turned their attention to her. "I'm very excited to work with you all and hoped I could invite you to a party this Christmas I host with my friend. If you're interested, please just come ask me for an invitation." She announced quickly. The initial reactions to her invitation were slow coming, a few people accepting one with no promises of making it or not. She understood. It was a little last minute, after all. She held in her amusement when Hiou -playing as a young dragon boy for this project-merely asked if Kanae would be there before taking an invitation and marching out.

"A Christmas party? Like a company thing, or...?" Kyoko turned to find a young foreign woman who was joining them for the project, staring back at her with wide green eyes. They weren't as pretty as Kuon's obviously, but their pure emerald color shone in a way that sung to Kyoko's fantasy heart. It was these features that had helped Tess get the role of a mermaid who would turn into a siren, fall in love with a human, and then resign herself to a life of eating humans just to gain her legs and chase after him on land.

Kyoko quickly fished an invitation out of her bag and held it out to the girl.

"It's a little complicated, but it's actually a 'Happy Grateful Party.' I host it with my friend and we invite people we're indebted and grateful towards. I mostly wanted to invite everyone as part of my request to take care of me, seeing as we'll be working together a lot starting today." She explained. Tess blinked down at the invitation curiously as she turned it over in her hands. "Er... if you have any trouble with translations, I can help." Kyoko went on to offer. The girl quickly shook her head in rejection.

"No, no, there's no need! My brother is a nuisance, but he's actually really helpful when I need it." She explained quickly as she jabbed a thumb behind her. Kyoko wasn't sure if the girl had been aware her twin was actually there, but there he stood, peeking over her shoulder nosily.

"I wouldn't be such a nuisance if you weren't so rude in the first place." He claimed. Tess rolled her eyes but otherwise ignored him. Kyoko wasn't sure she blamed her. Michael had been finding subtle little ways to prank his sister every chance he got, the main one being a surprisingly sour snack he offered her during their lunch break. Murasame hadn't seemed too impressed with the both of them, but luckily hadn't kicked up a fuss like with the Heel siblings yet. Kyoko felt a little guilty for giving him such a bad impression of foreigners, actually. It was clearly effecting how he viewed others as well.

Kyoko glanced over as the man in question packed up near by. He would be acting as the sailor Tess' mermaid fell in love with. Kyoko really hoped it went smoothly.

"Murasame-san, would you like an invitation?" Kyoko offered carefully. Maybe getting him to come to a mingling event would help ease some of the tension between them. The man looked to her with a slight frown before accepting an invitation, looking none too impressed as he gave it a once-over.

"What kind of name is this?" He asked bluntly. Out of the corner of her vision, Kyoko could see Yashiro starting to bristle.

"Well, it was just what Maria-chan and I decided last time, and we didn't see any reason to change it. Does the name matter that much?" She reasoned stubbornly. Murasame's brows furrowed slightly as he seemed to want to argue. Thankfully, he dropped it with a small shrug.

"Whatever. I'll see if I can make it, but don't expect me to rearrange my schedule for it."

"Of course!" Kyoko agreed readily.

A couple other costars accepted invitations as well, including the main star, a long-haired beauty by the name of Tanaka Sara.

"It's... a formal event, right? I've never been to a personal party like this before." She admitted. Kyoko froze as she considered that.

"I'm... not sure." That got her an odd look so she hastily explained. "That is, you should probably wear your nicest outfit, but it's not like you have to wear your most expensive gown or anything. I'll be wearing a chefs outfit due to working in the kitchen for a good amount of it, and not everyone attending are celebrities."

"So... formal wear, but not over-the-top." The girl concluded with a somewhat awkward smile. Kyoko almost wanted to assure her anything would be fine, seeing as the company president would undoubtedly wear something overly flashy, but instead opted to keep it simple. She quickly nodded and Sara covered her mouth delicately as an amused grin started to crack across her face.

"Alright, I look forward to it. Thank you for inviting me."

"Of course!"

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Kyoko groaned as she flopped onto the bed. It had been such a stressful day. She was so glad it was over.

"That bad?" Ren asked with a chuckle, coming to sit beside her. He claimed he was just visiting, but she knew he would stay without question if she asked him to. She was still debating on that for the moment.

"I can't believe I'm having to work with Taira Murasame. I'm pretty sure we traumatized him, by the way." Ren let out a tiny snort and Kyoko looked up at him with a curious raise of her eyebrow.

"He'll be fine. I've dealt with plenty of people like him in the past, and he's far from the worst we could be faced with. He probably just keeps that prickly aditude to make him seem more tough." He explained simply. Kyoko hummed lightly in acceptance as she went back to planting her face in her mattress. "On a better note, I found a lovely gift in my dryer earlier." He stated pleasantly. Kyoko's eyebrows bunched up as she tried to figure out what he was getting at. Shifting to look back at him again, she was further confused by the cocky smirk on his lips. "Cute, about this big, purple, tiny bows on the sides." Kyoko's eyes widened with horror before she snapped her hand out expectantly.

"Give me back my underwear please."

"Hmmm... nah, I think I'll hold onto them."

"What!"

"They were a gift left for me by a fairy after all. I can't just go and give them away so easily."

"Kuon! Give me my underwear!"

"You can have them if you find them." Ren let out a barking laugh as she lunged at him, patting him down in search of the tiny piece of fabric. "I didn't bring them with me, silly. What kind of man goes out with a woman's panties on his person?" Kyoko let out a long groan as she flopped back on the bed, tugging a pillow down to burry her face in it.

"Why do you torture me so? What did I do to deserve this?"

"Well, for starters, you left your panties in my dryer." She shot up and rounded on him, looking far more peeved than he expected.

"I had to wash them! What else was I supposed to do, hang them to dry in your shower?" She asked with a angry pout. Her ire only rose as understanding eased onto his expression and recognition flashed in his eyes.

"Ah, sor-"

"Don't!" She hushed quickly with a hand raised in silence. Ren snapped his mouth shut obediently and she heaved a long sigh. She hated feeling so irritable.

"Do you...," he started slowly, as if testing to see if she would snap at him again, "want some chocolate?" Kyoko blinked up at him, confusion etching between her eyebrows before she quickly shook them away. She didn't want to end up with a permanent revine there like her mother's.

"Chocolate?"

"Or pickles... I think it was pickles." Kyoko eyed her boyfriend as though he had grown a second head and he quickly held up his hands in surrender. "I... thought that was something girls did, eating chocolate when they were on their period and such." Kyoko's eye twitched slightly as the word 'period' escaped the man's lips. It was so strange for some reason, for a man like Tsuruga Ren to speak of such things. "And pickles are good for cramps... though I don't know if that applies to period cramps too. Oh... but I think I've heard Japan's pickles are a bit different." He paused to consider produce for a moment as Kyoko tried to sort through her feelings on talking about this kind of thing with him. There was just something strange about a man of his caliber talking about such a topic, but maybe that was remnants of her idolizing him talking. When she shifted to thinking of him as 'Kuon' instead of 'Ren'... it was surprisingly easy to accept.

"If you can get me some chocolate," Kyoko spoke up, interrupting his mumbling to himself in favor of giving her his full attention, "I think it would help me feel better."

"Of course!" He readily hopped to his feet. "I could get you some hot chocolate, or even chocolate syrup and mix it with milk. Either of those sound good to you?" He asked her eagerly. Kyoko had to take a moment to digest his eager-to-please attitude, slowly nodding as she considered her options.

"It's cold out, so maybe hot chocolate?" She suggested. Ren eagerly nodded his agreement as he planted a kiss on the top of her head and started to head for the front door.

"Then I'll be back in a little bit. Is there anything else you'd like me to get while I'm out?" Kyoko slowly shook her head, doing her best not to flush at the thought of him buying her sanitary products. He flashed her a brilliant smile before nodding his understanding as he slipped into his shoes.

"I'll be back soon, then. Until then, feel free to relax, take a bath, whatever you like."

"Right..."

"Love you."

"L-love you too. Stay safe." With a smile and a wave, he slipped out the door, leaving Kyoko standing awkwardly in her hallway. Had she ever seen someone so eager to help her? She couldn't recall ever having that before, deffinitely not from Shotaro. Mrs. Fuwa had certainly helped her through a lot, but never had Kyoko had someone so... doting? Oh... was that how Kuu acted toward a Julie? Somehow, she could easily imagine that.

She muffled a giggle behind her hand as she headed to her bedroom, pulling out a change of clothes and such before going to wash herself off quickly. She didn't know how fast Ren would be, and she really didn't want to be in the bathroom in that state when he returned. She wasn't quite ready for them to know each other _that_ intimately.

She was just sitting down to go through a script when he returned, toting far more groceries than she expected.

"I though you were just going to get the fixings for hot chocolate?" Kyoko practically yelped as she followed him into the kitchen.

"Yeah, but then I thought you might like something you could take with you in your bag during the day, and then I figured I might as well get you chocolate syrup as well, just in case you decided you wanted chocolate milk, and then I remembered something about heating blankets? Even if you don't want it now, you can use it later for if you get sick or something." He explained quickly. Kyoko stared at her boyfriend for a moment, quietly wondering if he really was going off his rocker.

"Thanks..., I appreciate it." she said slowly, feeling a bit embarrassed _for_ him when he beamed happily, as if she had given him the highest praise he could ask for. Who knew Tsuruga Ren... no, maybe that was just it. It wasn't 'Ren' who doted on and pampered her, it was 'Kuon' or 'Corn'. She kept thinking of them as the same person, but they weren't really, not exactly. Kuon strives to be Ren, to be his ideal image of what a man should be, but he was only truly himself as 'Kuon', if a little more reckless.

"I wonder what it would be like to date Tsuruga-san." She mused.

"Um... what?" Kuon questioned. Looking over to him, she found her boyfriend puzzled and uncertain, causing her to laugh openly at his scrunched-up expression.

"Sorry, I was just thinking that you would probably act differently if you were to date me in the character 'Ren', and I couldn't help but be curious about it." She explained. The man looked away as he considered that.

"Would you like me to try acting as Ren for a while?" He offered, glancing back at her curiously. Kyoko hummed as she looked him over. Did she want him to? Would it be better if they didn't confuse their relationship further? It would probably be bad if she started saying she liked dating him as 'Ren' better. Even if it was still him, it's technically not his honest self.

"Maybe just for a short exercise," she proposed, "just to satiate my curiosity." The man hummed and nodded once in approval before quietly going about putting the groceries away.

"Did you need anything? I can make you some tea or that hot chocolate we mentioned." He offered, looking back at her with a soft smile. Kyoko blinked twice. Were they already starting? The atmosphere changed so quickly, subdued and comfortable but a little less warm than before.

"Ah, yeah, I'd... like the hot chocolate." She said softly. She watched him go about putting the kettle on the stove and preparing her mug before she spoke up again. "I... didn't upset you did I?" She asked a bit nervously. Ren looked back at her, tilting his head slightly in a show of confusion.

"Of course not, Kyoko-chan. Why would you think that?" She couldn't help but focus on the added honorific on her name. Kuon was so eager to drop that formality the instant she gave him permission. She almost wanted to tell Ren the same. She could almost imagine how he would react, smiling that vibrant smile at her as he tried addressing her informally right there.

"I just... wanted to make sure. You're difficult to read sometimes."

"No one reads me as well as you, though." Ren chuckled lightly. They fell into a pregnant silence for a bit as he watched the kettle and she found a comfortable place to sit and hug her legs as she waited. The mug clinked noisily as Ren stirred her drink before setting it before her and finding a seat beside her with a script in hand.

The hot chocolate was watery. She smiled to herself as she sipped at it. Her boyfriend really sucked at cooking, no matter who he was acting as.

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"Sounds like a strange exercise to me." Kanae commented as she helped start up the rice for their dinner. She puzzled quietly over the fact that Kuon had bought Kyoko rice ('in case the heating blanket didn't work') but ultimately decided it must be a foreigner thing. There was probably little use in stewing over the strange behaviors of Hizuri Kuon. Kyoko hummed lightly as she worked on the main dish at the stove.

"It was fun though, in a subdued kind of way. I enjoyed finding all the subtle differences and similarities between them."

"So there wasn't anything glaringly different?" Kanae asked curiously as she crossed her arms and leaned against the counter. She supposed that made sense. Characters created by actors always had at least a tiny part of them in there, and to create a character you played in your every day life was bound to over-lap with your original personality a lot... unless you had some kind of disorder or something.

Kyoko hummed softly. "Ren is... more quiet and calculating. Instead of blatantly asking me for intimacy, he waits and watches and maybe leans in slightly as he brushes back my hair or something. It's like... Ren is a cat and Kuon is a dog, surprisingly similar in a lot of ways with a few key differences in their behavior."

"That's... surprisingly easy to imagine." Kanae laughed out as she thought back to how Ren and Kyoko used to be at odds. He really had acted like a cat back then, temperamental and feisty as he strut through the entertainment industry. The image of a panther strutting along and sitting proudly was the epitome of 'Ren' from back then. She supposed that would make Kyoko his handler, the one person he would let get close as he turned to putty or bristled up to protect fiercely. If Ren is a panther... did that mean Kuon was a wolf? It seemed far too tame, but what canine was more powerful than a wolf?

The older girl shook away the thought, finding it pointless to stew over it any longer. "Anyway," she shifted the topic slightly, "how is the ' _boyfriend's mother_ ' situation going?" she asked. Kyoko heaved a heavy sigh as she turned off the stove to signify theur diner being ready.

"I don't know. I haven't seen her at all today. Oh, I talked to Kuon last night about that too..." Kyoko trailed off and frowned iightly, a hint of frustration showing through.

"And?" Kanae urged lightly, gaining a more aggravated sigh this time, almost a growl.

"He claims she doesn't dislike me and that she called me a 'nice girl', so he's convinced we're getting along well." she explained as she scratched at her head roughly, messing up her hair and making her look absolutely wild. "But like..., just because she says I'm a nice girl doesn't mean she likes me personally." Kanae cringed slightly at that. Maybe she should text said boyfriend and remind him to listen to Kyoko more..., but no, that would be a bit strange, wouldn't it? He gave her his contact information so they could communicate and make plans for the ideal proposal, keeping an eye on Kyoko and all that. It would probably be overstepping her bounds to start nag-texting him about how she thinks they should carry out their relationship.

"Maybe... could Mrs Hizuri just be a socially awkward person? I mean, you would think a high-level celebrity like that would know how to handle all kinds of situations, but you never know." She reasoned. After all, if the son didn't see any issue with the mother's behavior, it could very well be in the norm. On the other hand, it wasn't uncommon for children to see their parents through biased eyes, especially within a family like that.

"Ugh, I don't know!" Kyoko whined as she started pacing abou. Kanae watched the eccentric girl patiently as she started to dish out their food. "I don't know what to do. I've never had to try and appeal to a parent. The most I've ever experienced was trying to be praised by the Fuwa parents."

"Then just do that."

"Eh?" Kyoko paused, staring at Kanae with that expectant gaze. God, she really hated that gaze being directed at her.

"Sure, there's the whole 'dating their son' thing going on, but when you get down to it, they're just like any other adult you've tried to appeal to. What did you do to get on the good side of the Fuwas?" she encouraged, passing a bowl of food to the other girl and leading them to the table to eat. Kyoko hummed as she considered that.

"I... learned how to serve guests properly, worked hard to keep from being too much of a burden at the Ryokan, learned how to do special cooking skills, um..." Kanae waved her hands around as she shook her head.

"Okay, stop stop stop! That's just you catering to people and learning how to do your job... except _maybe_ the cooking skills. Didn't you ever, say... give them compliments on how they look nice that day, or maybe you had a fun activity you did to strengthen your bonds? How do you show your strong points?" Kyoko stared at her blankly for a moment before trying to think hard on if she had ever done anything like that. Kanae groaned in dismay. "Look, she's a woman too, right? Maybe we should start with trying to appeal to that. We can invite her to hang out with us some time, that way you won't be left alone and start panicking or something."

"Do you think that would work?" Kyoko asked nervously. Kanae nodded with determination.

"Absolutely. We just need to get her to accept, and we'll get her to accept you as a good match for her son." she scooped a bite of food and ate it, plans already starting to form in her mind.

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 _Woo, a new chapter! I'm so eager to get to the party. I have some... fun plans. Heh heh heh._

 _Kaname671- you got that little implication eh? ;) yep, Yashiro's having a good time behind the scenes. Poor man doesn't get enough love in my opinion. As for the parent meeting, I cut it out to keep the flow of the story. Don't worry, nothing of great consequence happened after that. You didn't miss much more than some awkwardness and Kyoko slowly growing more stressed before they finally all left for the day._

 _Puffinzero- now Kyoko has Kanae as backup as well, haha! It's a long road, but Kyoko's had worse things to deal with. She'll be fine._

 _H-Nala- if there's anything I've learned from marriage, it's that the balance between in-laws is difficult. It takes a little time to find that balance, but we do what we must for the ones we love._

 _Kumioko- I actually am a big fan of pairing them together, but it's also sadly true that they don't have a lot of interaction. for now, things are just moving around. Nothing is being set in stone. Don't worry, Kanae is happy to focus on her acting for the time being._  
 _You have so many questions and it makes me smile to see you get invested in my writing. I'm sorry, but you'll have to wait a little longer to find out what Julie's deal is ;)_

 _Thank you to everyone who has been commenting, reading, following, and what have you so far. Thank for being so patient with my slow updates. Your continued loyalty means a lot and I'm eager to see you next chapter._


	22. Chapter 22

_Sometimes I just want to give up and when those times hit me, the first thing to slip through the cracks is my writing. Sorry about that. I hope everyone is well through these crazy and rough times. Does everyone have toilet paper (haha)?_

 _Kyoko and Kuon are dating. With Kyoko's eighteenth birthday coming up, Kuon is starting to make preparations to propose. The media managed to catch Kyoko and Kuon on their date and now the world knows that Kyoko has a close relationship with a blond-haired, green-eyed foreigner, though her official statement to the media claims she is not looking for a relationship at the time and is wanting to focus on her work in the entertainment industry. Kuu and Julie have decided to come to Japan for Kyoko's "Happy Grateful Party", and while Kyoko has yet to butt heads with Julie, she gets the distinct feeling that the older woman does not like her. Life is a whirlwind, and Kyoko is doing her best not to fly out of control._

 _enjoy_

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"You said you wouldn't leave my side!" Kyoko cried, her voice a mixture of desperation and accusation. "You promised to never let me lonely ever again! You liar! Why are you such a terrible liar?"

"... Sorry." Ren whispered softly, his eyes only staying open through sheer will as he gasped wet shallow breathes. "I'm sorry... I wasn't good enough. I wasn't strong enough."

"Stupid. Just get better! Get up! Get up so I can kill you myself!"

Ren let out a laugh only to dissolve into a coughing fit, hand clutching shakily to the seeping wound in his side. "If only you had it in you. I'm sure you would be merciful."

"Stupid."

"I know."

Kyoko curled into a helpless ball beside him, wishing there was something she could do, praying to any god who may listen.

"Eiko-chan," he called, reaching up slightly before his hand fell and his body went limp. Kyoko let out a horrific wail, sending shivers of belief through the room. There was an initial rage in it, slowly simmering down into a note of despair before it finally fizzled into silent resignation.

The studio was silent for a long moment before the director called out a shaky "C-Cu.t!" his voice cracking slightly in the middle. It took a second longer before the rest of the staff kicked into gear again, moving things around and reminding Kyoko to stay in place as they prepared the next scene. A body-double came in, replacing Ren so he could go get fixed up for his ghostly appearance. He paused for a moment, looking to Kyoko with a silent question. She shooed him off quickly.

"Go quickly. The sooner you return, the sooner Eiko-chan can stop despairing over your death, detective." Ren couldn't help the tiny smile as he hurried off.

"That was... ehm... that was amazing, Kyoko-chan!" Director Konoe exclaimed as he came to kneel beside her. "Really, I am so glad you accepted this role." he blabbered on eagerly. Kyoko had to force herself not to smile at the praise, worrying about disturbing her makeup too much and opting for an elegant bow from her place on the floor instead.

"It has been a great honor to have this opportunity with you as well." she claimed as she raised her head again. It truly had been thrilling to work on "Passed and Present". She had been a little worried that Director Konoe's involvement with the project meant it would be as thrilling and haunting as Tragic Marker, but it turned out fairly lighthearted and balanced, at least in comparison. Obviously the involvement with death had given it a fair share of heavy moments, but it was nowhere near the same degree, and Ren got to play the good guy this time around, though one who was a bit rough around the edges.

"Ah," The man glanced around quickly before leaning in, "speaking of being thankful, is it true that you invited Murasame-kun to your party?"

"Eh? You know about that?"

"He posted it on his social media account last night, though he didn't say if he planned on going or not." he explained. Kyoko heaved a small sigh, feeling just a little exasperated. Boys could be such drama-queens sometimes, or was it just because they were in the entertainment business? She couldn't tell. Every guy she had really paid attention to ended up being an entertainer, though she supposed that was her own doing.

"Yes, I did invite him. He's on another one of my big projects and I handed out somewhat last-minute invitations as a way of asking that they take care of me. It didn't seem right to exclude the people from my new project when I am grateful to be working with them so soon in the future." she explained. Konoe nodded thoughtfully at that.

"Do you think it will be okay? It doesn't seem risky for him to be around you and Tsuruga-san together? I'm also worried about him possibly trying to butt heads with ah... some of your other guests." Kyoko took a moment to absorb that before releasing a tiny laugh through her nose, hidden behind a delicate fist.

"Tsuruga-san can handle himself. I doubt anyone would suspect such a mild-mannered man to ever act that way. And don't worry about Kuon. He's fairly well trained. Ah... and he probably won't make it." she assured with a slightly sad smile. Wanting both Ren _and_ Kuon to be there was probably asking for too much so she had deliberately refrained from even bringing up the idea. Ren seemed to be expecting her to, subtly nudging her with questions on who all she expected to accept and decline her invitations, if there was anyone she wished she could invite, among other things. He probably would go the extra mile to do a costume change in the middle if she asked, but she wouldn't. Besides, him showing up with his parents there would expose him to more than a couple of people. She couldn't ask that of him, no matter how much he seemed to be moping over not having his other side invited specifically. Maybe she would ask him for a private birthday celebration with Kuon... She ignored the implications of that thought for the time being.

Konoe gave an uncertain nod as his worries seemed to be satiated for the time being, shifting back to his own place as the makeup artists came in and touched up Kyoko's face just as Ren was walking back up to the stage. Actually, now that she was thinking about it, she should probably be a lot more concerned about Murasame trying to fan-girl over Kuu. She... might want to warn all the Hizuris and the company president about that.

Ren took up his mark, sitting in a spot to Kyoko's left, just a little off camera. She felt a quiet bitter-sweetness as she realized this project was coming to an end. It truly had been so much fun.

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Kyoko stared the tiny bikini provided to her, looking over and finding Tanaka Sara holding up the scraps of fabric as though they were strips of slimy hair she had pulled out of her bathroom drain. Tess showed little apprehension as she exited the changing area, wearing a robe over her itty bitty bikini.

"That's amazing," Sara laughed out nervously as she looked to Sara, "how you can be so confident in something so... ehm..." she claimed as she held up the strips of fabric in her hands. Tess turned to them curiously, glancing between the other two girls before she tilted her head.

"It is not like we have to go out in the bikinis by themselves. They have to be like that so they do not cause any strange lines under the suits. I can kind of understand what you mean, though. I saw lots of girls wear things like this on the beaches back home, and I always wondered how they could be so... open about their bodies." she agreed. Kyoko looked down at the little bikini still in her box. This was common in America? That meant Kuon was likely used to seeing girls in this kind of thing, right? She shook the thought away quickly. Kuon had seen girls naked before. She knew that. She managed to not think about it too often, especially after his explanation on how she truly moved like a woman, that she was indeed sexy. Even so..., she couldn't help the uncertainty that rose up every now and then. Would he want to see her in something like this? It almost seemed more provocative than being entirely naked.

"Americans are something else, huh?" Sara laughed as she stood to put on her own bikini. Tess looked a bit uncertain at that. She was much more timid that Kyoko had expected from an american, and one in the entertainment business at that.

"I guess? We have as much variety as any other place, but I can see how you could get that impression pretty easily. Some of us are pretty reserved, some more than I think is really healthy."

"How's that?" Sara's voice came from the changing area. Kyoko quietly watched as Tess squirmed in her seat, picking at the edge of her robe.

"Ah, like some family friends of my mother. They were so reserved that their son was surprised to see men without their shirts when we went to the beach. Do men usually wear shirts when they go swimming here in Japan?"

"Well... no, not usually."

"And are little boys unaware of what nipples are when they do see men without shirts?"

"What the hell? Why wouldn't they know that?" Sara asked as she stepped out, tying on her robe. Tess nodded sagely.

"Exactly, I cannot understand it either.," the girl agreed, "but that is how much things vary in America. Some families are so reserved that children do not even understand their own bodies, discouraged from understanding it even. On the other hand, some families are so blatant that it... um... what is that word?"

" _ **I can try and translate for you**._" Kyoko offered in smooth english. Tess looked a bit startled for a moment but smiled brightly as she heard her own native tongue spoken to her.

" _ **What's the Japanese word for 'Ghetto'?**_ " Kyoko blinked, instantly uncertain.

"Er... _**Sorry, I do not know that word.**_ " she apologized. Tess wilted, slowly crossing her arms in a way that made her look a little smaller.

" _ **Oh... um... Like, kind of crude? I guess it doesn't really matter...**_ " she claimed. Kyoko worried over the girl. She hadn't seemed so timid and uncertain in the past. Did she or Sara do something that made her feel uneasy?

"I might not know the word you said," Kyoko spoke slowly, feeling a bit hopeful as she saw Tess look up to her again, "but I think I understand what you were trying to say. There are a lot of different personalities and sub-cultures in America, just as we have different types of people here. Not everyone in Japan is super formal or traditional, but we definitely do not all act like gyaru or yakuza."

"G-gyaru?" Tess echoed the word, her eyebrows pinching in concentration as her body loosened up slightly.

"Ah, like my sister!" Sara laughed as she plopped down on her chair. Kyoko looked to the other girl curiously and Sara waved her hand around as she clarified. "Gyaru are like... fashionistas, i guess."

"Fashion... ista?"

"Yeah, they're flashy. They tend to bleach their hair and wear clothes that draw the eye, if you know what I mean."

"So... like a _**diva**_?" Kyoko and Sara looked to each other, both trying to gauge if the other knew that word. Kyoko wondered if she should ask Kuon about american slang words so as to help with the communication with Tess.

"Are you girls ready?" one of the makeup artists asked as she came in. "Kyoko-chan, you haven't changed yet?"

"I'm on it!" she yelped as she bolted over to the changing area, changing into the bikini and throwing on her robe within seconds.

"It's okay, Kyoko-chan," the girl laughed as she set down her equipment on the counter by Tess, "we aren't in theater. You don't have to make such quick costume changes. I was just worried there was something wrong with the costume sizing or something." Kyoko shuffled out in her robe, feeling a bit sheepish at being caught unprepared.

"Even so, I should have been more proactive in getting ready, no matter how embarrassing the costume."

"There's nothing wrong with feeling embarrassed, so long as it doesn't impede your work." Tess encouraged. Kyoko nodded her firm agreement.

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Ren wished he had a more packed schedule right now. Unfortunately, he was free until Kyoko got out of her current job, and it would be no good for him to show up in the middle of filming. Even more unfortunate, Lory knew he was free and had called on him to act as a buffer between the older man and Julie. As fun as it was to see Lory meeting his match, he could find little solace in the fact that his mother was said match.

" _ **You have no understanding of a woman's heart!**_ " Julie scoffed in annoyance. Ren heaved a sigh as he sunk further in his chair. He really didn't see how his presence was supposed to do anything here. He glanced to his right with a pout, finding his father merrily sipping tea and palming snacks into his mouth, as if there weren't a natural disaster unfolding right in front of them.

" _ **A woman's heart** **? A woman's heart! No one knows the heart more than the love monster**_!" Ah, so he has fully embraced that name. Of course. Ren wished he could just leave already.

" ** _Ha! You're a 'love monster' because you_ feed on love! Just because it fuels you does not mean you understand it. Calling you a kidnapper for all those years was too kind. You're no better than a man who plays with the hearts of women and men alike!**"

" _ **You take that back!**_ "

" _ **No!**_ "

Ren ran a hand down over his face, wishing he could simply melt into the floor and escape this hell. Why did the adults around him act like squabbling toddlers?

"You're looking pale, Tsuruga. You should eat something." Kuu commented pleasantly beside him.

"No thanks. I'm eating with Kyoko once she gets out of her current job." He states, looking at his phone with hopes of finding a text there and finally being able to excuse himself from the current environment.

" _ **With your girlfriend? Where? Can I come?**_ " Julie was suddenly before him, directing the most pitiful puppy eyes she could muster. Puppy eyes weren't Julie's best weapon, not when Kuu's were so much more advanced. Her best weapon was her dramatic claims of impending doom. Even so, Kuon was well aware of that danger hiding just under the surface should he refuse her.

" _ **Mother**_ ," Kuon sighed as Kuu whispered his surprise at him breaking character, " _ **if you were to come with us, you would draw far too much attention and we all know how easily that could be blown out of proportion by the press**_." He reasoned. He could already see her preparing to toss herself into the nearest couch and wail about a sudden bout of deadly sickness that would bring her a very quick demise. " _ **Why don't you come over for dinner instead. Father can cook, since you two will be the ones intruding**_." He stated with a blinding smile. Julie huffed and crossed her arms as she turned away, her flowy dress and hair fluttering about from the dramatic movements.

" _ **I suppose that's fair. We'll meet you at your place tonight. Make sure to let your girlfriend know**_."

" _ **She might have other plans, you know.**_ "

" ** _That's fine. Just make sure you invite her properly_**."

Kuon heaved another sigh as he slicked back his hair. Was he aging too quickly? Where was his life force going? Where was his youthful energy? He wasn't already an old man, was he? He glanced over to one of Lory's massive windows, catching the faint reflection there and relieved to find he hadn't grown grey and wrinkled over the course of the past several minutes. _'I want to hold my girlfriend_ _'_ he thought woefully, one leg starting to bounce in irritation. He startled as his phone started to ring, quickly fishing it out and sudenly feeling rejuvenated as he saw Kyoko's name on the caller ID.

"Kyoko!" he greeted joyfully, pausing as he saw the three adults staring at him with knowing grins on their faces. "Ah, one second. I'm in a noisy place." he excused himself quickly before pulling the phone from his face. Julie and Lory both had pouts on their faces as Kuu did his best not to let his laughter escape, curled up with a fist pressed tightly to his mouth. "Sorry, but I need to go have lunch or I'll get scolded. It was nice seeing you all." he excused himself merrily, practically strutting out of the room. He could just hear Kuu's laughter bursting out as the door closed behind him.

"Sorry dear, I'm free now. Where are you?"

" _Oh, um... we... we're parking right now._ " Kyoko responded, sounding a bit flustered. Did she perhaps hear who he was talking to and feel nervous about interrupting his time with his parents or something? He could faintly hear Yashiro asking if she was alright. " _Should, uh... should you be using such affectionate terms out in public? I mean... even if you're on the phone, people might become nosy and start making assumptions if they hear "The Tsuruga Ren" talking to someone like that._ " Ah, so that was it.

"That's fine, so long as they don't know who. They can't really do much if they know I have someone but don't know who. Even if they happen to guess right, they won't be able to present any proof that we can't explain away as professional."

" _I... suppose that's true. Still, be a little more careful._ "

"Of course," He barely held back from calling her another affectionate term, "I understand. I'll just have to make up for it later" He stated cryptically, grinning as he heard her sputter in reply. His girlfriend really was the cutest in the world.

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"What does _**ghetto**_ mean?" Kyoko asked, watching Ren quickly cover his mouth as he coughed. The man looked at her curiously as he righted himself again.

"Where did you hear that?"

"One of the girls I'm working with on my new project is from America and she tried to ask what the Japanese word for it. She said some people are reserved, and some act **_ghetto_** , but there's lots of variety in people in America."

"Ah..."

"Is it... bad?" she asked worriedly. Kuon shook his head quickly before pausing.

"Well..., I don't know if you can call it _bad_ , per se, but it's not really something you want to go around saying." He explained slowly. Kyoko tilted her head curiously. "If you were asking the definition, I could tell you that it's a word for... less fortunate neighborhoods. It means 'slum' in Italian."

"Oh... But..., that isn't how she was using it."

"No, that's a result of American culture. The language changed a bit, and while it's still called that, the more common term now is 'The Hood', at least when I was there."

"You were in the slums?" Kyoko asked with surprise. Yashiro looked up from his own meal with curiosity. While he did try to stay quiet and out of the way during their breaks, he still had to stay with them to avoid prematurely exposing their relationship to curious onlookers. "I thought you lived in... well... a nice place, being in Hollywood and all that. Isn't Hollywood really glamorous?" Everything she had ever seen or heard about the place was 'Bright Lights!' and 'Beautiful People!' after all. Kuon's lips twisted into a slight grimace.

"Well... on 'The Strip' maybe. Ah, that's where you see all those pictures of bright lights and casinos and such. We call it 'The Strip' because it's basically just that. It's a small area with all the tourist attractions and glamorous things. As soon as you leave that area, though... it's quite ruthless. You can't wander out without being prepared. I spent a lot of time there shortly before... well... you know about all that." he hedged lightly. Yashiro looked between them with surprise and confusion. He hadn't ever heard about this! Things were slowly lining up in his mind, how Ren seemed to have some parts of him buried down deep, showing that he had faced some great hardship. When he found out he was actually 'Kuon' and had difficulty making a name for himself in America, he had believed the boy simply went through a rough patch of rebellion and dissatisfaction as he struggled to get out from under the pressure of being Kuu's son. It seemed there was quite a bit more to it than that, though.

Kuon shook his head quickly. "Anyway, you were asking about the things your coworker were talking about. In the way she was using it, ' _g_ _hetto'_ is being used to talk about the stereotypes around the people that tend to live in those areas. It's technically derogatory when referring to people, but it can also depend on the area. Some people claim it with pride, thinking it makes them seem tough and shouldn't be messed with. Others use it as a way of looking down on others, as a way of saying they have 'no class' or something similar." Kyoko frowned at that. It didn't sound very good when he put it that way.

"So... she shouldn't have been saying something like that." She surmised worriedly. She felt a bit ashamed for even repeating the word.

"I don't know your coworker, so I can't tell you how she intended it to be used. Like I said, different backgrounds cause people to interpret things a different way. It's very possible that she intended to simply use it as a way to explain the different amounts of conservativeness in people where she grew up. It's a bit ignorant, but not unbelievable. I just suggest you not use it very easily, especially if you ever actually go to LA. Ah..., try to just stay away from those areas in general. Keep someone with you at all times."

"Should I hire a bodyguard?" Kyoko joked.

"That might be best." Kuon stated with a serious expression. Kyoko paused and stared, a little surprised at that.

"Is America that dangerous?" She had heard a lot of mixed feelings about the United States, but Kuon seemed especially worried. She supposed that stemmed a lot from his difficulty in forging his own path there, but... it was a little startling just how much he seemed to worry about it.

"It... varies a lot. I'm not saying that the country as a whole is a dangerous place, but... I do worry about your safety should you ever go there. People are very dissatisfied with their situations, some more than others, and some more justified than others, but not everyone deals with that dissatisfaction in a healthy way. I know I didn't..." He threaded his fingers together, gripping his hands tightly on the table as he recalled how often he went out looking for fights, any excuse to release his pent up rage. Kyoko's dainty hands came to rest on top of his and he looked up, uncertain if he deserved that reassuring smile of hers. She was so bright, so pure and sweet in her love for him. He really could not understand how he had managed to claim something so... magnificent.

"I can tell you're beating yourself up again. You're not a monster, you know." She stated softly. Ren let out a small huff through his nose, the corner of his lips pulling up. How did she read him so well? "You were naughty. You were definitely not dealing with your issues in a healthy way. I won't say otherwise, but I will say that you," she lifted one hand to jab a finger in his face blatantly, a determined look on her face, "you are not a bad person. You are stupid."

"Hey!"

"And you are reckless," she continued on, ignoring his little cry of protest, "but not bad, not a monster." she assured him with finality. The man let out another short laugh, bowing his head. He wondered how much better his life would have been if he had Kyoko by his side in those dark days. Would he have been able to handle it all? Would they have attacked her as well? Would she have even stayed with him? Would they have driven her away from him completely? He thanked the cruel gods for making him suffer alone so that he could be with her now, lifting her hand to place a gentle kiss to her knuckles and quietly thankful to his manager as the older man stood and pulled up his bag in front of them, saying something about being about time to go. Kyoko didn't seem aware of the significance of Yashiro's restless movements near the end of their lunch, easily accepting the excuse with rosy cheeks. Ren quietly decided he needed to show his appreciation to Yashiro somehow, but what could the older man want? He wouldn't want to get him useless junk that just cluttered the place.

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"A sleepover! How lovely!" Jullie exclaimed with glee, looking to Kuu with sparkling eyes. "When was the last time I had a sleepover, darling? I can't even recall! Oh, the things you forget to miss as you age." She leaned her cheek into a hand dreamily, clearly excited to be invited. Kyoko smiled to Kuon nervously, relaxing a little and holding in a giggle when he sent her a wink. "Ah, if we do it the day before your birthday, I can help you get ready for your party! I'll need to see your outfit of course, but I'm _certain_ I can make you look as dashing as a queen!"

"Ah, that... I mostly work in the kitchen and hosting during the party, so there's no need for me to dress up nicely or anything." Kyoko assured. Jullie held her face with a startled expression.

"Gracious, no!" she wailed in firm denial. "Darling, you are an entertainer! Even if you wear nothing but painted-on clothes, you must present yourself with confidence and poise!" she urged. Kyoko resisted the urge to inquire more about that. Somehow she was afraid of the possibility that people really had worn nothing but paint as clothes. "If you are wearing an apron, that apron is the cutest damn apron when it's on you. If you have a stain on your shirt, that stain is something you intend to be there! Hell, make it bigger! Throw food across your chest and wear it as a sash with pride, as a statement!" Julie stood up with a fist in the air as she preached, clearly quite passionate about presentation and the like. Kyoko caught Kuon's eye-roll, holding back another giggle as she realized he had heard this all before. Perhaps that was why he was able to wear things that usually looked weird on others, he just knew how to hold himself with confidence and pride no matter what he wore. She tried not to think about the 'painted on clothes' thing again. She didn't need to imagine her boyfriend in such a state at the moment, and she _definitely_ did not need to wonder over whether he would wear something to hide his privates in that state.

"You should let her help you, Kyoko." Kuon encouraged with a smile. "If you can put up with Boss' eccentric nature, I'm sure you'll be able to put up with mother's" Julie gasped indignantly, reeling back from her son.

"You dare compare me to that kidnapper?! I've never been so insulted in my life! How could you even put me on the same level as that... that..." Julie began rambling in some language Kyoko didn't know, but she was pretty sure it was a string of insults directed at Lory. Kuu sighed and rubbed his temple as Kuon avoided his mother's gaze, a cheeky little smirk on his face even as Julie continued ranting in Russian. He seemed to be having fun riling his mother up about Lory. Kyoko giggled behind her hands, catching Kuu's attention and grinning back at him as he smiled at her and leaned in.

"It's good to see you faring so well." he told her quietly. Kyoko nodded, holding back more laughter.

"Father's family is fun." she admitted happily. Kuu hummed with a somewhat concerned frown, looking back to her thoughtfully.

"We're you're family too, you know. Jullie too, if you're willing."

"Ah," Kyoko looked down uncertainly at that. "I... still don't know what to feel about that. I'm starting to work through those things with my mother but..." she trailed off and looked back up as Kuu set a hand on her head, patting her assuringly.

"We know, and we understand. Just know that we are here for you, and we do consider you family, including Julie." Kyoko blinked a few times is quick succession, uncertainty easing into her expression. Kuu looked back to his wife and son, his hand still settled on top of Kyoko's head. "She's worried about you. I know she's not really the most gentle person, but she is trying. Thank you for inviting her to your sleepover. I think it'll really help you two get to know each other better, alleviate some concerns and all that." Kyoko hummed softly in agreement, quietly leaning more into her father-figure's touch. She let out a soft chuckle as he pulled her into a hug and pat her on the head, startling as Julie came flying out of nowhere and tackled her from the back.

"Stop hogging her! Kuon, make him stop!" Julie whined as her arms snaked around Kyoko's middle. Kuu released the girl, putting his hands up in surrender and leaving Kyoko so be smothered in Julie's chest. The older woman wasn't the most busty lady she had ever come across, but she still had enough that left Kyoko feeling a bit suffocated to be held there. _'This is certainly a new experience'_ Kyoko thought as Julie practically hissed at the two men any time they tried to coax her away from Kyoko.

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 _The story about a little boy not knowing what nipples are is true. My spouse and I have some friends who have a nephew that was very confused about them when they first went to the beach. The husband between the pair wasn't wearing a shirt and their nephew asked "what are those things on his chest?". I don't know how he wasn't aware of them before then, but it was a funny story anyway (among others)._

 _I grew up in a fairly mixed neighborhood, so the explanation on "ghetto" was partially from my own experience. Kids in my school loved saying they were "from the hood" because it made them seem tough and bad to mess with. I usually just kept to myself and didn't get involved with those conversations. I don't think my neighborhood itself was_ particularly _poor, but I know the next one over (where my future spouse lived) was considered one of the poorest in the area, consistently called a ghetto, and there really was a lot of gangs and discrimination between races, especially if you didn't fall into any of the "typical" categories of people in that area._

 _Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this story. My spouse and I are worrying over trying to move out of our apartment (something we had been planning to do this year) but we're having to do a lot of extra planning and such due to the virus. We definitely won't be staying, though. We just can't. I'll spare you the details, though. I just felt I should warn any remaining readers that there is a lot going on in the life behind this writing._

 _See you next chapter, hopefully soon._


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